Professor Alastair Florence

Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences

Personal statement

Director of the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation (CMAC) and associated 45 PhD Doctoral Training Centre. Leads the new world-class CMAC National Facility within the Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC) at the University of Strathclyde offering access to academic and industrial users to state-of-the art processing, analysis and characterisations facilties and support. Expertise in crystallisation and physical form control and characterisation of pharmaceuticals spanning polymorphism, solvate, co-crystal and salt formation and studies of amorphous systems. Extensive experience in the formation of pharmaceutical particles in continuous processes using a range of technologies as part of the CMAC programme. Interests also in the development and application of new technologies to control and monitor crystallisation and pharmaceutical solids.

Approaches for the characterisation of particles are also widely used and physical analysis of crystalline pharmaceuticals with a focus on the influence of crystallisation processes on structure and critical pharmaceutically relevant attributes that dictates product performance. Exploitation of X-ray powder diffraction techniques for phase identification, structure determination from powder diffraction data and in-situ phase surveys including local order using variable-temperature X-ray powder diffraction are key areas.

Has published over 120 peer reviewed research papers in these areas and currently supervises a large multidisciplinary research group including pharmacists, chemists and chemical engineers.

Prizes and awards

Best Poster Award @ CMAC Annual Open Day 2018: Recipient; 25/10/2018
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain Conference Science Medal: Recipient; 9/2004

More prizes and awards

Publications

Effect of oscillatory flow conditions on crystalliser fouling investigated through non-invasive imaging: Sheridan Rachel, Cardona Javier, Tachtatzis Christos, Chen Yi-Chieh, Cleary Alison, Briggs Naomi E B, Florence Alastair, Atkinson Robert, Michie Craig, Andonovic Ivan, Sefcik Jan; Chemical Engineering Science (2021); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2021.117188
Investigation of wet milling and indirect ultrasound as means for controlling nucleation in the continuous crystallization of an active pharmaceutical ingredient: Yang Yihui, Ahmed Bilal, Mitchell Christopher, Quon Justin L, Siddique Humera, Houson Ian, Florence Alastair J, Papageorgiou Charles D; Organic Process Research and Development Vol 25, pp. 2119-2132 (2021); https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.oprd.1c00209
Heat transfer and residence time distribution in plug flow continuous oscillatory baffled crystallisers: Briggs Naomi E B, McGinty John, McCabe Callum, Raval Vishal, Sefcik Jan, Florence Alastair J; ACS Omega Vol 6, pp. 18352-18363 (2021); https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.1c02215
The ambiguous functions of the precursors that enable nonclassical modes of olanzapine nucleation and growth: Warzecha Monika, Florence Alastair J, Vekilov Peter G; Crystals Vol 11 (2021); https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11070738
Mechanistic insights of evaporation-induced actuation in supramolecular crystals: Piotrowska Roxana, Hesketh Travis, Wang Haozhen, Martin Alan R G, Bowering Deborah, Zhang Chunqiu, Hu Chunhua T, McPhee Scott A, Wang Tong, Park Yaewon, Singla Pulkit, McGlone Thomas, Florence Alastair, Tuttle Tell, Ulijn Rein V, Chen Xi; Nature Materials Vol 20, pp. 403–409 (2021); https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-020-0799-0
Peptide isolation via spray drying : particle formation, process design and implementation for the production of spray dried glucagon: Doerr Frederik J S, Burns Lee J, Lee Becky, Hinds Jeremy, Davis-Harrison Rebecca L, Frank Scott A, Florence Alastair J; Pharmaceutical Research Vol 37 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-020-02942-5

More publications

Professional activities

EUFEPS Annual Meeting 2021: Chair; 7/6/2021
Bracco Science Day: Speaker; 1/6/2021
Pandemic Preparedness Partnership Conference: Participant; 20/4/2021
International Symposium on Continuous Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals: Chair; 18/2/2021
Consortium on Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Japan: Speaker; 17/2/2021
EPSRC Physics of Life Mid-Term Evaluation: Member; 11/12/2020

More professional activities

Projects

Doctoral Training Partnership 2020-2021 University of Strathclyde | Bartkowiak, Patrycja: Markl, Daniel (Principal Investigator) Florence, Alastair (Co-investigator) Bartkowiak, Patrycja (Research Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2021 - 01-Jan-2024
Made Smarter Innovation: Digital Medicines Manufacturing Research Centre (DM2): Florence, Alastair (Principal Investigator) Johnston, Blair (Co-investigator) Markl, Daniel (Co-investigator) Pierce, Gareth (Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2021 - 28-Jan-2025
CONTIMED High Growth Spinout Program: Florence, Alastair (Principal Investigator) Halbert, Gavin (Co-investigator) Robertson, John (Co-investigator); 22-Jan-2020 - 22-Jan-2021
SCOUT - AMCF: Florence, Alastair (Principal Investigator); 01-Jan-2020 - 31-Jan-2022
Digital Design Accelerator Platform to Connect Active Material Design to Product Performance (Manufacturing Made Smarter): Florence, Alastair (Principal Investigator) Johnston, Blair (Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2020 - 28-Jan-2022
Doctoral Training Partnership 2018-19 University of Strathclyde | Pereira-Diaz, Laura: Florence, Alastair (Principal Investigator) Brown, Cameron (Co-investigator) Johnston, Blair (Co-investigator) Pereira-Diaz, Laura (Research Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2019 - 01-Jan-2023

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Address

Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences
Technology Innovation Centre

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