Dr Daniel Markl

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Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences

Personal statement

Check out the group website on TheMarklLab.com for more details.

Daniel Markl’s research focuses on the coupling of advanced measurement techniques with digital process and product design to improve the way medicines are made. He obtained a BSc (2010) and MSc (2012) in telematics with a focus on neural networks and a PhD (2015) in chemical engineering from Graz University of Technology. Daniel secured an Erasmus Mundus in 2010, which allowed him to study modelling and control system design for one year during his MSc at the Lund University. During his PhD he was employed by the Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering (RCPE) GmbH, where he was in the group Process and Manufacturing Science and involved in several projects at the interface of pharmaceutical engineering, materials science and process modelling. He continued as Senior Scientist and Scientific Project Leader at RCPE after completing his PhD. In 2016 he joined Professor Zeitler’s group (Terahertz Applications Group) as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Cambridge. Daniel worked for two years in the Terahertz Applications Group before becoming a Chancellor’s Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Strathclyde in the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences (SIPBS).

 

Expertise

Has expertise in:

    Has expertise in:

    • Material characterisation of solid dosage forms using various advanced technologies (i.e. optical coherence tomography, terahertz imaging and spectroscopy, X-ray computed tomography).
    • Pharmaceutical engineering inclduing compaction process, hot-melt extrusion, fluid-bed and pan coating.
    • Advanced data processing using machine learning principles.
    • Mechanistic modelling of disintegration process (swelling and liquid imbibition process).
    • In-line and on-line process monitoring.

Prizes and awards

President of Pharmaceutical Solid State Research Cluster
Recipient
2020
Fellowship of Higher Education
Recipient
2020
AAPS Pharmaceutical Research Meritorious Manuscript Award
Recipient
2019
Best Poster Award
Recipient
2016
Erasmus Mundus
Recipient
2010

More prizes and awards

Publications

Development and implementation of a pneumatic micro-feeder for poorly-flowing solid pharmaceutical materials
Hou P, Besenhard MO, Halbert G, Naftaly M, Markl D
International Journal of Pharmaceutics Vol 635 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2023.122691
Modelling the evolution of pore structure during the disintegration of pharmaceutical tablets
Soundaranathan Mithushan, Al-Sharabi Mohammed, Sweijen Thomas, Bawuah Prince, Zeitler J Axel, Hassanizadeh S Majid, Pitt Kendal, Johnston Blair F, Markl Daniel
Pharmaceutics Vol 15 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15020489
Formulation-dependent stability mechanisms affecting dissolution performance of directly compressed griseofulvin tablets
Maclean Natalie, Khadra Ibrahim, Mann James, Abbott Alexander, Mead Heather, Markl Daniel
International Journal of Pharmaceutics Vol 631 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2022.122473
Comparative studies of powder flow predictions using milligrams of powder for identifying powder flow issues
Deng Tong, Garg Vivek, Pereira Diaz Laura, Markl Daniel, Brown Cameron, Florence Alastair, Bradley Michael SA
International Journal of Pharmaceutics Vol 628 (2022)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2022.122309
Analysis of THz scattering of compacted granular materials using THz-TDS
Murphy Keir N, Naftaly Mira, Nordon Alison, Markl Daniel
2022 47th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz) (2022)
https://doi.org/10.1109/irmmw-thz50927.2022.9895792
Digital medicines manufacturing (DM2) : AI-driven optimization of oral solid dosage form development
Salehian Mohammad, Abbas Faisal, Markl Daniel
Leverhulme Research Centre for Functional Materials Design (2022)

More publications

Research interests

My research focuses on the coupling of small-scale experiments, advanced measurement techniques and digital process and product design to improve the way medicines are made. The lab’s multidisciplinary research focuses on drug product manufacturing and in particular on the manufacturing of pharmaceutical tablets. Our research aims to provide the fundamental understanding that is needed for the design of future medications, where the release behaviour and the quality is designed into the solid dosage form. The lab particularly focuses on:

  • Continuous manufacturing: The pharmaceutical industry is introducing continuous manufacturing coupled with real-time release testing to deliver higher quality medicines more effectively to patients. Both patients and manufacturers will benefit from this transition through lower manufacturing costs, better control over product quality, higher flexibility in response to market demands, and the facilitation of more complex medications in an increasingly challenging economic environment. We aim to develop a scientifically sound understanding of the physical structure of the solid oral dosage forms, which is needed for the manufacture of 21st century high-quality medication with targeted release behaviour. Our research will develop the fundamental basis for linking raw material attributes, critical process parameters and critical quality attributes for continuous manufacturing of solid oral dosage forms. 
  • Innovative process analysers: Accurate and continuous monitoring of processes has significant benefits for the pharmaceutical industry as it has the potential to reduce the cost of manufacturing through limiting waste and speeding up the development process whilst enhancing the product quality. This can only be achieved by the use of innovative process analysers which are capable of assessing the quality of a large number of samples in a short period of time. We aim to develop cutting-edge technologies for at-line/on-line and in-line monitoring of critical quality attributes, which are currently not accessible. One of the main technologies in our research is terahertz imaging and spectroscopy as it has outstanding characteristics in terms of its ability to penetrate in the majority of pharmaceutical materials and its measurement speed. 
  • Digitally designed drug products: We aim to develop modelling approaches coupled with experimental methods that enable digital and rapid formulation design of pharmaceutical tablets through the coupling of process and product models. This includes the characterising and mathematical description of particle, granular material and compact characteristics that facilitate the development of models of every step involved in the dissolution process.

Check out the group website on TheMarklLab.com

Professional activities

Sensor Enabled Automation
Contributor
14/9/2022
InterPore2021
Participant
2021
15th Pharmaceutical Solid State Research Cluster Annual Conference
Participant
2021
Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences (External organisation)
Advisor
2021
The Disintegration of Pharmaceutical Tablets: Linking Material and Manufacturing Characteristics to In-vitro Performance
Speaker
2021
EPSRC Early-Career Forum in Manufacturing Research (External organisation)
Advisor
2021

More professional activities

Projects

Recounting an Ancient Story of Crystallisation: Saffron Rock Candy
Salehian, Mohammad (Principal Investigator) Al Qaraghuli, Mohammed (Co-investigator) Hone, Scott (Co-investigator) Clark, Catriona (Co-investigator) Markl, Daniel (Co-investigator) Florence, Alastair (Co-investigator)
Funding: Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) Engagement Grant Programme (£1500)
Summary: In this project, we aim to raise awareness of crystallisation science among students of primary and secondary schools through easy-to-follow, self-paced experimental packages. We will demonstrate the crystallisation process in the case of rock candy, along with the underlying science in an easy-to-understand manner. As part of the engagement strategy, crystallisation science's cultural and historical aspects will also be considered. Audiences will learn how crystals form, practice the science behind solubility and super-saturated solutions and understand the impact of crystallisation conditions (such as temperature, pressure, seeding, and concentration) on the final structure and the taste of sugar crystals. The key concepts include crystal growth, seeding crystals, solvent/solute, and solubility.
09-Jan-2023 - 09-Jan-2023
DTP 2224 University of Strathclyde | Tsioutsios, Alexandros
Markl, Daniel (Principal Investigator) Johnston, Blair (Co-investigator) Tsioutsios, Alexandros (Research Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2022 - 01-Jan-2025
KTP - GlaxoSmithKline plc. Understanding the different polymorphs in APIs which impact stability and biopharmaceutics.
Markl, Daniel (Principal Investigator) Oswald, Iain (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2022 - 31-Jan-2024
International Collaboration for Digital Design and Manufacture of Amorphous Pharmaceuticals
Florence, Alastair (Principal Investigator) Brown, Cameron (Co-investigator) Johnston, Blair (Co-investigator) Markl, Daniel (Co-investigator) Robertson, John (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2022 - 31-Jan-2025
Resource-sparing direct compression formulation optimiser to accelerate medicine development
Markl, Daniel (Principal Investigator) Robertson, John (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2022 - 31-Jan-2026
Industrial CASE Account - University of Strathclyde 2021 | Osman, Musab
Robertson, John (Principal Investigator) Markl, Daniel (Co-investigator) Osman, Musab (Research Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2021 - 01-Jan-2025

More projects

Address

Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences
Technology Innovation Centre

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