This PhD project is a collaboration between the Pfizer team in Ringaskiddy, Cork and academics in the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast (Prof. Muldoon, Dr. Knipe, Dr. Dingwall and Dr. McLaughlin).
Pfizer is a world-leading pharmaceutical company, with a reputation for carrying out ground-breaking science which leads to the discovery and development of medicines for people with serious and life-threatening diseases (https://www.pfizer.co.uk/science/our-therapy-areas). Not only does Pfizer discover new treatments via its research efforts, it manufactures medicines on a large scale and has a commitment to environmental sustainability (https://www.pfizer.com/about/responsibility/environmental-sustainability). This means that Pfizer innovates to improve the manufacturing methods. The Ringaskiddy complex in Cork manufactures medicines on a large scale and has a research and development team related to innovative process methods. As a company, they have been making great strides in moving to continuous flow processes which have many advantages for the manufacturing of medicines.
The synthesis of pharmaceuticals involves numerous steps, building molecules step-by-step, one reaction at a time. The overall production results in a significant amount of waste and much of that waste is organic solvents, which are still the main type of solvents used for organic synthesis. This project will examine the use of water as a solvent and it will study an important class of reactions, catalytic coupling reactions, which are vital for building molecular structures. In addition, it will examine if such reactions can be carried out in a continuous flow process rather than using simple batch conditions. There is a desire to shift to continuous flow processes due to the significant advantages in efficiency, safety, scalability, and sustainability that such processes offer. In the case of water as the solvent, there are challenges associated with flow processes using water. While a move from organic solvents to water has the potential to improve the environmental impact of a process, it can be challenging. For example, the use of water often results in challenges associated with the solubility of substrates and reagents. This project will examine areas such as catalyst design, surfactants and reactor design and aims to understand the factors that are important in carrying out catalysis in water under flow conditions. The project will enable the student to gain experience in homogeneous catalysis, organic synthesis, kinetic studies, and flow systems. As part of the project, the PhD student will carry out a placement at the Ringaskiddy complex in Cork, gaining valuable industrial experience.
For informal enquiries contact Prof. Mark Muldoon m.j.muldoon@qub.ac.uk
Deadline: 5 January 2026
For more information and to apply visit https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/continuous-flow-synthesis-for-apis-in-collaboration-with-pfizer-the-development-of-continuous-flow-systems-in-aqueous-media/?p191566
