Core modules
Introduction to Process Chemistry and Chemical Technology This provides students with an overview and understanding of the concepts surrounding pharmaceutical and fine chemical development and manufacturing, including drug discovery, development, engineering operation and design, fundamental regulatory issues and laboratory and plant practices. As part of this module, students carry out a chemical process design project , where they work in multidisciplinary groups throughout the year to design a chemical process from start to finish, covering all aspects of industrial implementation
Organic Synthesis This module provides students with relatively little experience of chemistry with the range of organic chemistry and synthetic transformations needed to understand fine chemical and pharmaceutical synthesis.
Advanced Organic Synthesis For students who already have a degree in chemistry, this module greatly enhances the range of organic reactions which students can use for fine chemical and pharmaceutical synthesis, and provides an understanding of the issues and limitations associated with scaling up of chemical processes.
Pharmaceutical Product Formulation This module covers all aspects of pharmaceutical formulation, including dosage forms and preferences, the engineering challenges in manufacturing, the unit operations in tabletting and regulatory and quality issues in secondary manufacturing.
Pharmaceutical Analytical Techniques Primarily intended for students who do not have a degree in chemistry, this course covers an extensive range of analytical techniques (e.g. NMR, XRD, HPLC, MS, IR, UV, DSC, TGA) as methods of quantifying the quality and properties of product, including the fundamental chemistry and physics underpinning the techniques, the type of information the techniques provide and interpretation of data.
Batch Process Engineering For students with relatively little experience of chemical engineering, this course covers the distinctive features of batch processes in process industries, the concepts and methods for scheduling and simulation batch operations, and the differences between multi-produce and multi-purpose plants.
Case Studies in Fine Chemical and Pharmaceutical Synthesis This course has extensive industrial involvement through a series of seminars and workshops, and is designed to give students a detailed knowledge of real world examples of varied aspects of process chemistry (pharmaceutical synthesis, fine chemical synthesis, catalysis, commercial aspects) utilising case studies from a wide variety of sources.
Physical Organic Process Chemistry Given primarily by an industrialist with extensive relevant experience in the process industry, this course will give students a detailed knowledge of physical organic chemistry, an appreciation of its relevance to large scale reactions, with examples illustrating possible implications of unanticipated phenomena.
Interdisciplinary Research Project Students will work on an extensive research project at the Chemistry-Chemical Engineering interface of direct relevance to fine chemical and pharmaceutical synthesis. Students will work in established research laboratories with access to excellent facilities. All projects are industrially relevant, and many are industrially sponsored.