Geoff Smith

A specialist in pharmaceutical materials science, physical analytical measurement techniques (including dielectric relaxation spectroscopy, thermal analysis, terahertz spectroscopy), process measurement and control (esp. freeze-drying). Responsible for the development of TVIS – a novel in process analytical technology for monitoring and developing optimised freeze-drying cycles, and Z-FDM – a freeze-drying microscope with integrated impedance spectroscopy capability. Since 2015, and with the expertise of Ahmet Orun, our PAT platform has been extended to include dynamic laser speckle techniques (for tablet characterization and for studying microcollapse in freeze-dried drug products).
Geoff graduated in Pharmacy from the University of Bath in 1985 and obtained his PhD from the University of Brighton in 1991 based on a study of the mechanisms of action of cryoprotectants. It was then that he developed a keen interest in the die-lectric properties of materials.
He joined De Montfort University in 1993 and went on to develop a number of lines of research based around broad band dielectric measurements. In recent years these studies are focussed increasingly on PAT applications in process develop-ment and manufacturing controls for the pharmaceutical industry. His research group is now working on a number of pharmaceutical applications for impedance, dielectric and terahertz spectroscopy alongside optical techniques such as laser speckle and optical flow. These techniques cover an extremely wide range of fre-quencies thereby enabling the direct analysis of material properties over a wide range of scales from the macroscopic to the molecular.
He was responsible for the development of through-vial impedance spectroscopy (LyoDEA) as a PAT tool for monitoring phase behaviour (ice formation and eutec-tics), temperatures, and drying profiles and end points, in collaboration with GEA Pharma Systems and AstraZeneca (Funded by the Technology Strategy Board).
More recently his pharmaceutical research focus has extended to investigations into the use of electrostatic noise measurements and optical imaging for applica-tions in roller compaction, powder flow and tablet defect analysis, with the aim of improving understanding and control of tablet production methods.
From 2007 he began to re-structure the Pharmaceutical Technologies group, by recruiting staff from various backgrounds, including chemists, physicists, chemical engineers and process control specialists in order to diversify the research base of the group and to re-focus efforts on current pharmaceutical industry challenges in product design and manufacturing. By 2010 he had instigated De Montfort Univer-sity’s Pharmaceutical Quality by Design programme, with a wide range of industrial practitioners providing webinars on elements of quality by design.