Facilities
The Pharmaceutical Research Core Facilities Unit has modern and well equipped research laboratories with facilities for wet chemistry research as well as a broad range of analytical instrumentation.
These facilities include
- Varian 600 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer
- Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS),
- Particle sizing technology, with both a Malvern 2000S+ Mastersizer
- Photon correlations spectrometer (Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS),
- Equipment necessary for liquids/gels, such as a Kinexus Rheometer and torsion balance.
Analytical equipment available
- Preparative and quantitative High Pressure Liquid Chromatographs (HPLC)
- Gas Chromatograph (GC)
- Fluorescence and UV-Vis spectrophotometers are available within the unit.
In addition to synthesis and characterization, the unit also houses the specialist equipment necessary for the formulation and evaluation of powders such as angle of repose, cube mixer, spray dryer, lyophilizer, wet granulator and fluid bed mixer.
Dosage forms can be prepared and evaluated using our dissolution and disintegration baths as well as our Erwka tablet punch, Dynamic Light Scattering and Rheometer.
Services
Our services include:
- Chemical characterization and quantification: The unit houses a 600 MHz NMR with various probes suitable for the detection of nuclei from 1H down to 109/107Ag suitable for multinuclear and multidimensional studies, as well as a Varian Atomic Absorption Spectrometer and Gas Chromatograph. Both preparative and standard RP-HPLC as well as a Polarimeter, to assess the presence of enantiomers, and various UV-Vis and Fluorescence spectrometers and plate readers are available.
- Pharmaceutical formulation: A lab dedicated to pharmaceutics contains the necessary equipment to prepare a number of pharmaceutical formulations. From the preparation of powders for solid dosage forms using a cube mixer, planetary Ball mill or wet Granulator to the control of particle size using the Buchi Mini-spray Dryer or Fluid Bed Dryer. Once the powders are suitable then they can be formulated into a capsule using our molds or compressed in our single Punch Tablet Machine. If a non-solid dosage form is being prepared then the Brookfield Viscometer, torsion balance or Rheometer may be useful to establish optimum characteristics for the required formulation. The unit also contains a small aseptic suite.
- Pharmaceutical analysis: The unit contains a large amount of the equipment necessary to carry out many of the required tests for dosage forms such as a Tablet Hardness Tester, Dissolution Baths, Tablet Disintegration Tester, Tapped Density and Friability tester, Karl Fisher Titrator and organ baths. In addition, the unit operates both a Malvern NanoZS Zetasizer and Mastersizer as well as a sieve column and numerous other small pieces of equipment such as homogenizers, sonicators, pH and oxygen probes and automated shakers.
- Small molecule synthesis and analytical characterisation.
- 600 MHz NMR spectroscopy
- Mass spectrometry
- Gas-Liquid chromatography
- UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy
- Early synthetic route development and scale-up.
- Preparative HPLC purification.
- Pre-formulation and formulation development.
- Drug product development.
- Drug product characterisation :
- Particle sizing
- Rheology testing
- Drug release
- In vitro and in vivo efficacy determination.
Industrial applications
Industry can use our services for
- Early-stage manufacture, characterisation and testing of new drug candidates.
- Formulation science to expedite appropriate drug product selection.
- Pre-clinical testing in established in vitro and in vivo models.
