PAT4Nano has developed different, complementary particle size measurement technologies for in- and online real-time monitoring of concentrated industrial nanosuspensions. Concentrated nanosuspensions are found throughout modern industrial manufacturing, e.g. Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), paints and inks, and materials used in green energy processes. Nanosuspensions have unique physical and chemical properties which determine the end material or product performance. Accurate measurement of nanoparticle size and distribution during manufacturing or processing is therefore critical. Continuous, rapid, and reliable real-time data from PAT4Nano tools will provide more comprehensive process information than current offline measurements, enabling users to obtain insights into the fundamental dynamics of nanoparticle-based processes. This data enables real-time process control and feed-forward loops to correct for process variances, leading to better end product consistency and higher process efficiencies. To achieve this, PAT4Nano used an integrated, end user-driven, approach where end user partners, Agfa-Gevaert, Janssen Pharmaceutica, and Johnson Matthey, helped defining operational needs and thus technology requirements, which leads to better instrument design. PAT4Nano focussed on applications in pharmaceuticals, inks/pigments, and materials for catalysis, batteries, and glass manufacture supplied by these end users.
The overall project objectives comprise 6 elements:
1. Develop a suite of nanosuspension particle size measurement tools, using different measurement principles and modes of operation to accommodate the wide variety of industrial nanosuspension types which need to be monitored. These include: online laser diffraction (on-LD), Raman spectroscopy (Raman), ultrasound nano-particle sizer (UNPS), online spatially resolved dynamic light scattering (on-SR-DLS), and a DLS probe (in-DLS).
2. Harvest relevant information about particles, samples, industrial processes, and engineering parameters to ensure that the measurements can be implemented effectively in an industrial context.
3. Validate technique performance (or combination of methods) using both standards and end-user provided samples to ensure that the measurement results are consistent, real, and comparable.
4. Demonstrate the efficacy of each method on multiple industrial sample types and manufacturing processes.
5. Use multi-PAT approaches where necessary to characterisation of both chemical and physical parameters from industrial processes that require more comprehensive monitoring methods.
6. Commercialize the developed solutions by a series of actions including but not limited to: targeted digital marketing, conference and workshop attendance and end-user introductions.
