Investigating the Relationship Between Void Solvent and Morphology via Crystallization Control

  • Crystallization
  • 21 May 2024

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About the webinar

Having a thorough understanding of the nucleation and crystallization kinetics of an API is an important step in the drug development process, especially if there are major impacts on the particle morphology. Control of the crystallization ensures a robust manufacturing process that produces repeatable flow properties, polymorphic form, stability, yield, batch homogeneity, and other factors.

In this webinar, guest speaker Christina Costa from Neurocrine Biosciences presented a study in which a series of experiments was designed to investigate a material that tends to crystallize with variable quantities of solvent trapped within voids of the lattice. This resulted in batches with differing particle morphologies and flow properties, presenting a challenge for future development. To optimize and control the process, the crystallization parameters were studied through solvent selection, antisolvent addition, and rates of cooling. Work is ongoing to finalize the ideal conditions, which will be utilized as the project matures.

Guest speaker

Christina Costa

Principal Engineer at Neurocrine Biosciences

Christina has a total of 10 years' experience and is an inventor on 4+ patents in the pharmaceutical drug development space. Her early career was spent working in the small molecule preformulation contract lab sector, after which she joined Neurocrine Biosciences where she has been for 8 years. She leads the Materials Science function, supporting product development of small molecule and biologics projects through materials characterization, form screening, and crystallography. She holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from UC San Diego and a Masters in Materials Science and Engineering from University of Virginia.