Molecular Engineering for Integrated Product Development

Blair BrettmannMaterials Science and Engineering

About Me: Education

• B.S. in Chemical Engineering the University of Texas at Austin

• M.S. at MIT in Chemical Engineering practice• Intern at GlaxoSmithKline

• Intern at Mawana Sugar Works

• PhD at MIT in Chemical Engineering• Pharmaceutical manufacturing and

formulation thesis

• Research sponsored by Novartis

• Senior Research Engineer, Saint-Gobain (2012-2014)

• Polymer processing, coatings and films

• Specialize in processing and formulation

• Projects in window films, glass fiber mats, fluoropolymer films, architectural coated fabrics, etc.

• Research Project Lead

• IR attenuating automobile window film

• Product on market as of 2016

About Me: Industrial Experience

About Me: Return to Academia

• The University of Chicago Institute for Molecular Engineering• Postdoctoral Researcher

• Molecular level fundamental polymer theory

• The IME• Engineering school centered around

molecular-level science

• Draw from a multidisciplinary background (MSE, ChE, BME, physics, chemistry, biology)

Molecular Engineering for Integrated Product Development

Research Focus: Link molecular to micron scale phenomena to processing and multicomponent complex mixtures to enable rapid product development

Polymer Processing Complex Systems Modular Pharmaceuticals Polymer Physics

Concentration of multivalent ions mol/L10

-710

-610

-510

-4

Bru

sh h

eig

ht

(nm

)

0

20

40

60

80

100

Epsilon multivalent=8, epsilon monovalent=1, g=3

Exprimental results, Ionic strength 0.003Theoretical results

Research Areas of Interest

• Solution Processing• Coating processes

• Electrospinning/spraying

• Formulation

• Characterization• Solution rheology

• Microrheology

• Solid state characterization of films and coatings

Capabilities and Expertise

Nanocellulose for pharmaceutical products

• Graduate Student: Manali Banerjee• RBI Fellow• Nanocellulose as a pharmaceutical excipient

• Processing• Interaction with active pharmaceutical ingredients• Drug delivery and release

Nanocellulose for pharmaceutical products

• Renewable and biocompatible

• Small size with high strength and stiffness and high surface area

• Hydroxyl groups make it highly hydrophilic and introduce partial surface charges

Surface

modifications

NC + modifier

Nanocellulose

Hydrophobic surface

Hydrophilic drugs

Hydrophobic drugs

Nanocellulose solution

Pharmaceuticals

Solution of drug and

nanocellulose

Extrusion or solvent casting Drugs in NC

matrix

Drug particles+

Dip or spray coating

NC coated drugs

Nanocellulose Structure

Processing of polyelectrolyte complexes

• Graduate Student: Sarah Forester

• 3M Fellow

Interfacial Polyelectrolyte Complexation

*Kenis et al., Science, 1999

Complexation under flow

*Wan et al., Adv. Healthcare Mat., 2012

Ideation and discovery

Development and concept

testing

Scale-up to manufacturing

and launch

Vision for Integrated Product Development