Research interests
Our research deals with materials and processes at colloidal (nanometer to micrometer) length scales. The focus is on synthesis and processing of particulate, colloidal and biomolecular systems.
Particle formation processes/pharmaceutical engineering
Numerous pharmaceutical particulates are formed through antisolvent driven processes, where two solutions are mixed in order to create a thermodynamic driving force for particle formation due to a limited solubility of one or more solutes in the resulting solvent mixture. Such processes are often mixing controlled and can lead to a wide range of intermediate and/or metastable liquid or solid phases. We study kinetics and mechanisms of these processes in order to design and novel continuous processes for manufacturing of nanostructured particles for various pharmaceutical applications. We also study subsequent downstream processes and their effects on resulting particulate products.
Protein Aggregation
Understanding, controlling and utilizing colloidal interactions of proteins is crucial for their downstream processing, including purification, sterilization and storage. Protein interactions with each other determine whether they stay stable in solution or whether they aggregate. Understanding and tuning of protein interactions is thus necessary for improvement of the lifetime stability of therapeutic proteins as well as for rational development of novel separation and sensing procedures for bioprocessing. In fact, there are numerous issues in biotechnology and biomedical engineering, where protein aggregation phenomena have been identified as key factors controlling our success in producing, sensing, handling, and applying biomaterials and therapeutics as desired. We study protein aggregation in solutions under non-equilibrium conditions. The proteins of interest include enzymes and therapeutic proteins in applications such as heat treatment or bioseparations. The modelling work is focused in detailed scattering and spectroscopic characterisation of aggregating protein systems as well as on development and validation of population balance models describing how the mass distribution, structure and activity of protein aggregates evolve in time.
Professional activities
- European Summer School on Crystal Nucleation
- Invited speaker
- 20/6/2016
- Crystallize COST Action CM1402 Annual Meeting
- Keynote/plenary speaker
- 6/4/2016
- 5th European Conference on Crystal Growth
- Participant
- 11/9/2015
- Invited presentation at GSK, Stevenage, UK
- Contributor
- 3/9/2015
- Faraday Discussion 179
- Invited speaker
- 30/3/2015
- Invited Seminar, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
- Invited speaker
- 22/10/2014
more professional activities
Projects
- Doctoral Training Centre In Continuous Manufacturing And Crystallisation / RS4912
- Florence, Alastair (Principal Investigator) Sefcik, Jan (Co-investigator)
- Period 01-Jul-2012 - 01-Jul-2012
- GSK 112
- Sefcik, Jan (Principal Investigator)
- Period 16-Jan-2017 - 31-Jul-2017
- Doctoral Training Centre In Continuous Manufacturing And Crystallisation | Mabbott, Fraser Adam
- Florence, Alastair (Principal Investigator) Sefcik, Jan (Co-investigator) Mabbott, Fraser Adam (Research Co-investigator)
- Period 01-Oct-2012 - 01-May-2017
- Polymorph control in PVDF thin films for sensor applications and composites
- Johnston, Karen (Principal Investigator) Sefcik, Jan (CoI) Mulheran, Paul (CoI) Gleskova, Helena (CoI) Liggat, John (CoI) McKechnie, David (Researcher)
- In this project we will develop a computational model to guide the design of polymer thin films for composite and flexible sensor applications.
- Period 01-Oct-2016 - 31-Mar-2017
- investigate the continuous crystallisation of organic salts (secondment of John McGinty)
- Sefcik, Jan (Principal Investigator)
- Period 12-Sep-2016 - 11-Mar-2017
- Phase behaviour of a complex multicomponent system
- Johnston, Karen (Principal Investigator) Sefcik, Jan (Co-investigator)
- Experiments to determine the phase behaviour of coffee-soya milk mixtures for different concentrations and temperatures. Summer project with BP sponsored stipend.
- Period 06-Jun-2016 - 05-Aug-2016
more projects
Address
Chemical and Process Engineering
James Weir Building
James Weir Building
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