A team of researchers from the University of Minnesota and the Dow Chemical Company have discovered a new method for customising ingredients that help oral medications dissolve in the body and be absorbed into the bloodstream. The materials discovered in this study could allow life-saving drugs to work faster and more efficiently. The University of Minnesota and Dow have filed a patent on the discovery that may also lower the cost to produce new medications. The research study is now ...

Process-safety accidents can be prevented if hazards are recognised and appropriately managed. This article is intended to raise awareness of some less-common hazards. It describes three incidents involving temperature related, catastrophic failures of shell and tube heat exchangers in the gas processing and oil-refining industries. It also examines their root causes and highlights lessons to be learned. Company names have been omitted from the main text because the focus is intended to ...

A team of engineers has invented a new soap molecule, made from renewable sources, which could dramatically reduce the number of chemicals in cleaning products and their impact on the environment. The soap molecules also worked better than some conventional soaps in challenging conditions such as cold water and hard water. The technology has been patented by the University of Minnesota and is licensed to the new Minnesota-based start-up company Sironix Renewables. The new study is now ...

In the first part of this series on bioburden control, Chris Davis defined biopharmaceutical products, outlined the risks inherent in biopharmaceutical processes and examined how to prevent microbial contamination. In this concluding part, he examines the control measures that can be applied to the process, such as steam-in-place and hot-water sanitisation, and the increasing use of single-use technology. The bioburden control measures applied to the process are listed in Table ...

A University of Cincinnati (UC) researcher has engineered an environmentally friendly technology to zap outbreak-causing viruses and bacteria from public drinking water. Environmental and biomedical engineer David Wendell, an associate professor in UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science, developed a protein-based photocatalyst that uses light to generate hydrogen peroxide to eliminate E. coli, listeria, and potentially protozoa like giardia and cryptosporidium. If mass ...

The last twenty years has seen significant investments in biopharmaceutical manufacturing in Ireland and this is set to continue with the likes of BMS, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Regeneron, Shire and Alexion all undertaking major biopharmaceutical capital projects in Ireland. Adequate bioburden control is of paramount importance to the production of biopharmaceuticals and this is achieved through proper equipment preparation, a combination of cleaning, steaming-in-place (SIP) and hot water ...