Our Research Projects:
Our research projects focus on two main areas:
- the creation of new advanced materials and,
- the development of new scientific research tools
Relevant Descriptors: X-ray diffraction (XRD), in-situ characterization, materials chemistry, stimuli-responsive crystals, high-throughput screening, nanoporous adsorbents, metal-organic frameworks, chemical sensors, polymer nanocomposites, biomaterials, pharmaceuticals, crystal engineering
Metal-organic Frameworks for controlled release of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs)
Every Year billions of dollars are spent on the discovery of new pharmaceuticals, which offer safer, more effective treatments for diseases and ailments. Drug release materials offer a way to drastically improve medications currently available by controlling when, where, and how rapidly pharmaceuticals are released. However, current drug release materials, largely based on organic polymers, lipids, and metallic nanoparticles, suffer from low drug loadings, poor control over drug release kinetics, stability problems, and a variety of reproducibility issues. Metal-organic Frameworks (MOFs) offer several potential advantages over currently used materials due to their higher drug loading capabilities and their high degree of modularity/reproducibility. In our research we are targeting a new subclass of materials in which the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is directly encapsulated or incorporated into the MOF material during synthesis, thus avoiding the ineffective post-synthetic loading methods used to incorporate drugs into current release materials. Our group is working towards developing a universal protocol for the direct incorporation of any small molecule pharmaceutical into a controllable MOF drug release matrix constructed from low toxicity metals and organics. We are also targeting the development of nano-crystalline materials with favorable drug release rates, which can also be activated to release their drug payload when exposed to an appropriate stimulus such as light or a high acidity environment. The advancement of nanotechnologies for drug release is a rapidly growing area, and this research stream offers the possibility to develop better medical treatments and new technologies within Canada.
Dynamic Porous Crystals (DPCs)
Stimuli-responsive porous crystals have shown significant advantages over traditional solids and have potential industrial applications as nanoporous adsorbents, chemical sensors, and biomaterials. We are interested in developing new porous crystalline materials from metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent-organic frameworks (COFs), and hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs), which undergo large amplitude structural changes in response to both chemical and physical external stimuli, such as gas, vapor, liquid, heat, light, or electrochemical response. By determining the fundamental driving forces which influence the dynamics of stimuli-responsive porous crystalline materials we can begin to develop these materials by design for targeted industrial applications.
XRD-based screening and in-situ characterization tools
We have a unique approach to creating and characterizing new materials. If the XRD-based screening or in-situ characterization tools currently available fall short, or simply don’t exist, we build them ourselves with a little help from our industry partner, PROTO. By working closely with PROTO, we will create a tailor-made multi-functional X-ray diffraction (XRD) platform to act as a testbed for a series of crystal screening and in-situ XRD-based devices.
X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a characterization technique used to analyze all types of materials, including metals, minerals, organic and inorganic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, polymers, and nanomaterials. Diffraction occurs as X-rays interact with an ordered (crystalline) material, revealing detailed structural information and giving insight into structure-property relationships of the material. This project allows for the ability to develop new XRD-based instrumentation as well as in-situ characterization and high-throughput screening devices. These new research tools will be used to optimize the production, screening, and characterization of new stimuli-responsive porous crystalline materials (DPCs) and gain insight into their mechanisms of operation.
X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a characterization technique used to analyze all types of materials, including metals, minerals, organic and inorganic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, polymers, and nanomaterials. Diffraction occurs as X-rays interact with an ordered (crystalline) material, revealing detailed structural information and giving insight into structure-property relationships of the material. This project allows for the ability to develop new XRD-based instrumentation as well as in-situ characterization and high-throughput screening devices. These new research tools will be used to optimize the production, screening, and characterization of new stimuli-responsive porous crystalline materials (DPCs) and gain insight into their mechanisms of operation.
