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.
Photochemical reactions can often deliver products in a manner which is more efficient than alternative methods. These reactions can have high selectivity (so less waste side-products) and operate under mild conditions. The application of photochemical reactions in industry has been limited as they have been difficult to scale-up. Batch conditions are not readily scalable as photochemical reactions rely on species which absorb light. When species absorb light, this happens at the surface of the reactor (near the light source) and the light cannot penetrate to reach species further from the surface. Flow systems address this problem, as significantly smaller reactors with smaller internal volumes can be used. In addition, the light source was a problem as the available lamps/technology required large amounts of power and resulted in significant amounts of heat. Modern light emitting diodes (LEDs) have made photochemical reactions significantly easier. This has resulted in a renewed interested in photochemistry and the academic area is flourishing. This project will look at the application of modern photochemical reactions (using photocatalysts) for organic synthesis in continuous flow systems, studying areas such as reactor design, product separation challenges (e.g. catalyst reuse and contamination) and detailed kinetics analyses. 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 Dr Peter Knipe P.Knipe@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-continuous-flow-systems-to-enable-the-application-of-photochemistry-in-organic-synthesis/?p191568
