Organic Chemistry- PhD Studentship - Manchester Metropolitan University

At Manchester Metropolitan University (Manchester, UK) we have a PhD studentship available in the group of Dr Macia/Dr Sutcliffe/Dr Banks.

Requirements: We are looking for a candidate with an BSc(H) degree in a relevant subject related to organic chemistry. Excellent lab skills and background in organic synthesis are essential.
Salary: 1000 GBP/month

CV and covering letter (including a personal statement outlining your suitability for the study, what you hope to achieve from the PhD and your research experience to date)
should be emailed directly to b.macia-ruiz en mmu.ac.uk.

Information about the project follows:

Project title: Mechanically-Assisted Synthesis of Pharmaceuticals

Project Summary:The proposed research focuses on the development of robust and environmentally-friendly approaches for the rapid and simple construction of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). In the pharmaceutical industry, the transition from traditional wet technologies to dry mechanochemical methods is a highly desirable but unexplored step that needs further investigation. The application of mechanochemical methods to the synthesis of complex APIs would lead to a decrease in the number of technological stages, thus allowing both the simplification of the processes and the reduction of costs to the manufacturer, and, ultimately, to the consumer.

The primary objectives of this study will be to: (i) Develop, optimise and assess the application of mechanochemistry to the “sustainable” production of an important class of biologically-active pharmaceutical products: barbiturates and (ii) Evaluate/define the key kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of the optimised processes to develop a robust predictive model for mechanochemical-mediated reactions.