Gaia Sofia Comoli

Pharmaceutical Engineering Research Group

Ottergemsesteenweg 460

B-9000 Gent(Belgium)

Education: Chemical and Process Engineer

Biography

Bachelor and Master in Chemical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin. She did her master thesis at GSK Vaccines in Rixensart (Belgium) working on the impact of the ice-fog technique for controlled nucleation on the residual biological activity of a vaccine.

Summary of research Project

In the broader context of the transition from batch to continuous manufacturing also the freeze-drying process for pharmaceutical application is undergoing intensive research to obtain a better product quality. An improvement of the duration and costs, which are well known limitations of such process, is also sought after.

Together with the development of different technologies, aimed at the improvement of the lyophilization cycle, also the use of mechanistic modeling has been increasing. This tool can be used as a way to predict or optimize process performance and design, to avoid time and cost consuming trial-and-error procedures.

The aim of this project is the model-based development of a microwave-assisted continuous spin-freeze drying process.