Research Projects

Crystal engineering strategies are heavily reliant on crystallization protocols, as nucleation and growth affect their outcomes. Most crystal engineering strategies have been developed using organic solvents, either as crystallization medium or as a grinding liquid in liquid assisted grinding (LAG) techniques. This proposal aims to implement ionic liquids (IL) in crystallization protocols through two methods: encapsulated crystallization and a ball-mill-based systematic ionic liquid-assisted grinding technique (IL-AG). ILs are tunable with respect to their composition, allowing for tuning of properties such as density, polarity, hydrophobicity, and hydrogen bonding ability. The research will explore IL properties by considering polymorphic organic systems, including active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The research directions can be divided into two categories: encapsulated crystallization, where low-density ionic liquids are used to induce crystallization from droplets at the interface, and IL-AG, where a ball-mill mixer with polymorphic cocrystal systems is used. The significance of both approaches is immense in crystal engineering, both from an academic and industrial perspective. Solid form selection is a major challenge in the pharmaceutical industry, and limited variability in crystallization conditions is a bottleneck. The first approach proposes a novel crystallization protocol for organic molecules, while the second approach introduces systematic variation in grinding conditions in cocrystal synthesis.