Lecture: Accelerated solvent extraction of drugs from plants, pharmaceutical formulations and environmental matrices

Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 10:30 - 11:30 hrs in the Benzon auditorium

The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100 Copenhagen

Brief summary of the lecture:

Extraction of active compounds such as drugs from plants, pharmaceutical formulations and environmental matrices is of major importance in drug discovery, pharmaceutical quality control and environmental monitoring. In many applications the extraction step is often a bottle neck in the overall analytical chain from sampling to final analysis. Accelerated solvent extraction allows for faster extraction since this step is performed at elevated temperatures, often above the boiling point of the extraction solvent. The technique can also be automated further decreasing the time spent on manual sample handling. In order to implement this technology it is important to understand the basic parameters controlling the extraction step in order to optimize the extraction. This lecture outlines by a number of applications the most crucial parameters for a successful extraction of drugs from a number of matrices.

Brief summary of Bruce e. Richter and the development of accelerated solvent extraction

Bruce E. Richter was one of the inventors of Accelerated Solvent Extraction at Dionex Corporation. This technology has now been on the market for 15 years and thousands of scientific publications have been published over the years. Bruce is currently the Manager of the Salt Lake Technical Center (SLTC) of the Dionex Corporation.  His responsibilities include managing basic and applied research, new product development, technical sales and customer support activities of the SLTC.  The SLTC has global responsibilities for the ASE and AutoTrace (automated SPE) product lines.  Dr. Richter has over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals, several hundred oral presentations at scientific meetings, and eleven patents in the areas of chromatography, sample preparation and environmental chemistry.  He has been employed by Dionex for over 25 years and has been heavily involved in fundamental instrumentation developments of chromatography and sample preparation.  As a result of the research and product development work done at the SLTC, the ASE product line was introduced in 1995.  ASE received the R&D 100 award in 1996 as one of the 100 most innovative new products introduced that year.  The new ASE product line introduced in March 2008 has received several awards for innovative design and operation.  Bruce received his Ph.D. from Brigham Young University in Analytical Chemistry with an emphasis in environmental chemistry.  Dr. Richter also is an Adjunct Chemistry Instructor at Westminster College, a private liberal arts college in Salt Lake City, Utah.  His hobbies include fly-fishing, hiking, backpacking and other outdoor activities.

Practical information:

Organized on behalf of the Drug Research Academy by Erland Björklund, Department of Pharmaceutics and Analytical Chemistry, The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, e-mail: ebj(at)farma.dk.

Participation is free of charge and the lecture is open for attendance by all interested parties. Registration is not required beforehand.