Parametric, Optimization-Based Study on the Feasibility of a Multisegment Antisolvent Crystallizer for in Situ Fines Removal and Matching of Target Size Distribution

Peer reviewedPostprin

Dynamic Modeling of Encrust Formation and Mitigation Strategy in a Continuous Plug Flow Crystallizer

Peer reviewedPreprin

A Comparative Study of Coupled Preferential Crystallizers for the Efficient Resolution of Conglomerate-Forming Enantiomers

Acknowledgments: Funding is acknowledged from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013)/ERC grant agreement No. (280106-CrySys). The authors would like to thank Andreas Seidel-Morgenstern of Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Magdeburg for his comments on the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Developing Engineering Learning Objects Online Portal with LabVIEW and an Open Source Web Content Management System

Learning objects (LOs) are independent chunks of knowledge normally used for instructional or learning purposes. LOs are normally reusable in the sense that they can be adopted and adapted for various learning and instructional scenarios. They are also tagged with metadata which includes descriptive information allowing them to be used and searched easily. LOs are sometimes metaphored as being a LEGO. Examples of LOs could contain multimedia content, instructional content, learning objectives, instructional software and software tools, and computer simulations. Many LOs are designed to be mediated online. In engineering education, computer simulations based learning objects could be the most beneficial for conveying hard engineering concepts for the engineering science learner. Computer simulations have been reported to facilitate conceptual understanding and leaving positive impact on students learning in numerous number of engineering education research articles. In the last two decades, many software packages have been developed for enhancing the engineering design and analysis process, examples are Matlab/Simulink, PSpice, LabVIEW, etc. These has been used consequently by academics for enhancing their students learning. LabVIEW is one of the most versatile computer software packages. It is used comprehensively in the industry as well as in academia. LabVIEW started as computer software interface of PC based data question equipments, however, it has grown much beyond that offering comprehensive toolkits and already implemented functions. Also it has great connectivity facilities with Matlab/Simulink, C++, and Visual Basic allowing communicating already developed codes in the latter with its core engine. The other important specification of LabVIEW is its embedded internet tools enabling publishing its programmed GUIs on the world wide web in easy and handy way. Web content management systems is the third generation of web publishing applications after HTML and web authoring software packages such as FrontPage and Dreamweaver. It is used to manage and control a large, dynamic collection of Web material (HTML documents and their associated images). A WCMS facilitates content creation, content control, editing, and many essential Web maintenance functions. In contrast with the web development tools such as HTML, FrontPage, Dreamweaver, etc., a CMS enables faster development, cost effectiveness, and online flexibility. The basic idea of any web content management system is that a non-technical person often needs to be able to keep their own website up-to-date without having to call on a web developer to make changes every time. Of course there are some things that can only be done by a web developer, but for simpler tasks such as changing the wording of a paragraph, it is an unnecessary burden and expense for both parties if you have to get a developer to make the changes. This paper provides an A to Z prescription of implementing a standardized Learning Objects online portal. This describing in detail a LabVIEW based Learning Object architecture, using a proper IEEE LOM metadata generation tool, and finally how on the top of that a Joomla web content management system can be used for developing the online portal

Open Educational Resources (OER) for Control Systems Engineering: Development Case with LabVIEW, Simulink, and Camtasia

The aim of this paper is to report on the development of control systems open educational resources. The paper reports on two control systems education software: 1- A LabVIEW based Control Systems Analysis Toolkit (CSAT) which was developed to assist lecturers in teaching control engineering and students to understand theoretical concepts, and 2- A Process Control Virtual Laboratory (PCVL), developed using LabVIEW. Both software have been created as a stand-alone educational application together with a detailed manual and learning activities. Existing Simulink exercises have been enhanced and specific video tutorials for the Simulink exercises have been developed. Evaluations have been conducted indicating positive impact on students

Process analytical technology based monitoring and control of crystal properties in pharmaceutical crystallisation processes.

Crystallization is an important unit operation used in a variety of industries. Its importance in the pharmaceutical industries is due to a large number of active pharmaceutical ingredients that are utilised in solid form. It is estimated that more than 80% ofpharmaceutical products involve at least one crystallization step in their manufacturing process (Reutzel-Edens, 2006). The pharmaceutical crystallisation operation is often critical because it determines the product properties, such as the crystal size distribution, morphology and polymorphic form. These properties in tum influence the efficiency of the subsequent downstream operations, particularly filtration and drying. The properties also affect the therapeutic performance ofthe product, such as dissolution rate and bioavailability. A proper control of crystallization processes offers possibilities for improved process efficiency and better product qualit

Resilience and risk analysis of fault-tolerant control design in continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing

PresentationThe effects of the paradigm shift from batch to continuous manufacturing on pharmaceutical industry, in terms of process safety and product quality, e.g., danger of dust explosions and risk of off-spec products, are of major concerns in the recent research progress in control system design. Specifically, a fault-tolerant control of critical process parameters (CPPs) and critical quality attributes (CQAs) is of paramount importance for the continuous operation with built-in safety and quality. In this study, a systematic framework for fault-tolerant control design, analysis, and evaluation for continuous pharmaceutical solid-dosage manufacturing is proposed, consisting of system identification, control design and analysis (controllability, stability, resilience, etc.), hierarchical three-layer control structures (model predictive control, state estimation, data reconciliation, etc.), risk mapping, assessment and planning (Risk MAP) strategies, and control performance evaluation. The key idea of the proposed framework is to identify the potential risks in the control design, material variance, and process uncertainties, under which the control strategies are evaluated. The framework is applied to a continuous direct compaction process, specifically the feeding-blending system wherein the major source of variance in the process operation and product quality arises. It can be demonstrated that the process operation failures and product quality variances in the feeding-blending system can be mitigated and managed through the proposed systematic fault-tolerant control system design and risk analysis framework

A new approach for the preparation of functional pharmaceutical nanoparticles using glass capillary millifludic devices

Functional pharmaceuticals nanoparticles are solid carriers with a mean size of less than 1 μm, which are capable to dissolve, entrap, encapsulate or attach active ingredients (drug) to its nanoparticle matrix. In this study, a new approach for the formation of acetaminophen (PCM) encapsulated poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) nanoparticles with controllable size dependent has been performed in a glass capillary milifluidic device by nanoprecipitation (“diffusion-stranding”) method

A new approach to control nucleation of crystals based on engineered drug carrier nanoparticles using a co-flow microfluidic device

A new approach to control nucleation of crystals based on engineered drug carrier nanoparticles using a co-flow microfluidic devic

Seeded batch cooling crystallization with temperature cycling for the control of size uniformity and polymorphic purity of sulfathiazole crystals

An experimental study has been conducted to evaluate the capability of a seeded batch cooling crystallization with a temperature cycling method to produce a narrow crystal size distribution and grow a desired polymorphic form of sulfathiazole crystals. The study used focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM), and attenuated total reflectance ultraviolet/visible (ATR-UV/vis)spectroscopy for the in situ monitoring and control of the process. Based on the FBRM readings, the process was driven using a feedback control approach that employs alternating cycles of heating and cooling phases so that the number of counts, corresponding to the number of seed particles, is maintained, whilst the square-weighted chord length distribution, indicating the dynamic progress of the growth of the seeds in the system, is increased. Results of the experiments show that the temperature cycling method promoted Ostwald ripening, which helped in accelerating the growth and enhancing the size uniformity of the product. The method also has a good prospect to be implemented for the control of polymorphic purity. Seeds of Form I and Form II could be grown from n-propanol and water, respectively. Form I seeds in water were first transformed into Form II and/or swamped by nuclei of Form II, before the growth of the newly formed crystals took place. Seeds of Form II and Form III in n-propanol, however, were not able to grow at all. This study confirmed that the nucleation and growth of sulfathiazole crystals are solvent-mediated, and the insight into these phenomena was captured very well by the in situ monitoring tools