Our main achievements have been facilitated by several interdisciplinary and multi-institutional consortia.
These include EPRSC/Innovate UK funded GELENZ consortium focused on the new enzymatic routes in generating carbohydrate-based materials (Khimyak, in collaboration with Bath, Bristol and JIC), Marie Curie Industry-Academia Partnership (Morris), EU-funded IMODE interreg partnership (Qi, Fabian). Other sources of funding include UKRI (EPSRC, BBSRC), industrial support (Qi, Saeed, Morris, Khimyak) and cross NRP pump-priming grants (Qi, Khimyak). Wallace joined the cluster as a Research Fellow of Royal Commission of Exhibition of 1851 and developed innovative NMR chemical imaging methods.
- We have developed of novel formulation methodologies including advances in 3D printing (Saeed (EPSRC), Qi), amorphous pharmaceutical materials (Khimyak (EPSRC), Qi (ICS)), soft matter systems (Khimyak (EPSRC/Innovate UK), Round, Wallace), encapsulated solid form of pharmaceuticals (Khimyak, Fabian).
- Advanced molecular level characterisation of pharmaceutical materials at different length and time scales based on the synergy of experimental and computational tools uncovered unprecedented level of detail in structure of polymer based materials (Khimyak, Qi (EU, ICS), Saeed (EPSRC)), co-crystals (Fabian, Khimyak, Round) and nanoscale systems (Morris, Round) and enabled predicting structure/properties in solid-state (Fabian, Khimyak).
- We have developed novel NMR tool-kit for soft matter (EPSRC/Innovate UK), biomaterials (NRP grants), carbohydrate systems (Khimyak, Wallace, cross-NRP collaborations), pharmaceuticals based on the combined application of solution and solid-state methods (Khimyak, Wallace) as well as innovative chemical imaging methods (Wallace).
- Novel pharmaceutical materials: polymer systems for tissue engineering (Saeed), nano-formulations (Morris), graphene based nanomaterials (Khimyak) and soft matter systems (Khimyak, Qi, Wallace).
This research group is led by Prof Yaroslav Khimyak
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more...Dr László Fábián
Dr Fábián’s research entails the design of multi-component solids, understanding and control of transformations between solid forms of drugs. Dr Fábián also investigates structural informatics and molecular modelling of materials: using structural information to explain and design materials properties as well as the structural and physicochemical characterisation of pharmaceutical materials. -
more...Prof Yaroslav Khimyak
Prof Khimyak’s research areas include NMR elucidation of structure and dynamics of materials with limited long-range ordering and soft solids, as well as polymer based and amorphous pharmaceutical systems for drug delivery: understanding of intermolecular interactions. Prof Khimyak interests extend to the study of porous solids, hydrogels and colloidal biomaterials. -
more...Dr Andrew Round
Dr Round’s research is concerned with developing Sliding Contact Force Spectroscopy for mapping sequences in glycans and synthetic copolymers and nanoscale approaches to understanding the mucus barrier in drug delivery. Dr Round is also studying drug-matrix interactions at the single molecule level. -
more...Dr Sheng Qi
Design and development of age-adapted drug formulations and novel delivery systems for nutraceuticals and taste masking technologies are research interests of Dr Qi’s research. Dr Qi is also investigating combination therapy: formulation design and manufacturing. -
more...Dr Aram Saeed
Dr Saeed investigates acellular 3D biomaterial matrices for use in cellular expansion (in vitro use), in addition to injectable hydrogels as cellular and therapeutic proteins delivery system (in vivo cellular based therapy). -
more...Dr Matthew Wallace
Dr Wallace focusses on the development of NMR imaging methodologies to study processes taking place along chemical gradients inside gels. Dr Wallace’s also utilises techniques for high-throughput measurement of the molecular properties of pharmaceuticals.