Targeted design of superalloy membranes and their application processes for the production of colloidal, lipid-based drug carrier systems

• Applicants: Professorin Dr. Heike Bunjes; Professor Dr.-Ing. Arno Kwade; Professor Dr. Joachim Rösler
• Subject Area: Chemical and Thermal Process Engineering ; Metallurgical, Thermal and Thermomechanical Treatment of Materials
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 451891484

Superalloy membranes combine good mechanical strength and thermal resistance with very fine pores in the nanometer range. The combination of these properties is not achieved by typical membrane materials such as alumina, glass or polymers. In the field of pharmaceutical nanoemulsification processes, premix membrane emulsification is currently being investigated amongst others, in which the use of membranes with increased mechanical strength and thermal resistance can expand the possibilities of process control and thus open up new application possibilities. In a first joint interdisciplinary study by the applicant institutes, it was shown that creep-deformed nanoporous superalloy membranes are generally well suited for premix membrane emulsification. The project described in the application is intended, on the one hand, to fundamentally investigate and explore the material specific aspects and challenges of membrane fabrication with regard to the application of premix membrane emulsification. Furthermore, the process of premix membrane emulsification with the superalloy membranes shall be investigated in detail. This includes the interactions between the membranes and the pharmaceutical emulsions, the exploration of possible process windows and the procedural characterization of the membranes. The aim of the research is to comprehensively understand the design of the nanoporous superalloy membranes as alternative membrane material and to explore their process application with the help of a suitable model test bench. While the expertise in the field of superalloy membranes is represented at the Institute of Materials, in the fields of process engineering and pharmacy it is contributed by the Institutes of Particle Technology and Pharmaceutical Technology.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants