News - Finden

Spatial and Temporal Visualization of Polymorphic Transformations in Pharmaceutical Tablets

Graphical abstract

Our Senior Scientist Stephen Price has been working with Julia Gasol Cardona, Iain Oswald (University of Strathclyde), Daniel Markl (CMAC), Andy Maloney (CCDC – The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre), and teams at DESY, ELDICO Scientific AG and ESRF – The European Synchrotron on a project where X-ray Diffraction Computed Tomography (XRD-CT) has been used to reveal pressure-induced phase transformations in pharmaceutical tablets of glycolide as a function of compaction pressure. This novel application of the XRD-CT methodology enables non-destructive molecular level insight and is a step change in the way we are able to view formulated products. In the broader context of pharmaceutical research, the application of this methodology to pharmaceutically relevant systems will enable a deeper understanding of the effect of tableting pressure on the formulation in pharmaceutical products. Read the article at https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202412976

4th STORMING Consortium Meeting in London

Photo of attendees at Storming Meeting London 11 Sep 2024

We were proud to host the 4th STORMING Consortium Meeting in London on the 11th & 12th September. It was wonderful to meet up with the consortium members and share new insights on the project.

STORMING will develop breakthrough and innovative structured reactors heated using renewable electricity, to convert fossil and renewable CH₄ into CO₂-free H₂ and highly valuable carbon nanomaterials for battery applications. Find out more at https://storming-project.eu

Thank you to everyone for attending!

Obtaining parallax-free X-ray powder diffraction computed tomography data with a self-supervised neural network

Finden’s latest work with UCL Chemistry, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London and Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has been published in a new paper by Hongyang Dong “Obtaining parallax-free X-ray powder diffraction computed tomography data with a self-supervised neural network” in npj Computational Materials. This study introduces a method designed to eliminate parallax artefacts present in X-ray powder diffraction computed tomography data acquired from large samples. These parallax artefacts manifest as artificial peak shifting, broadening and splitting, leading to inaccurate physicochemical information, such as lattice parameters and crystallite sizes. Our approach integrates a 3D artificial neural network architecture with a forward projector that accounts for the experimental geometry and sample thickness. It is a self-supervised tomographic volume reconstruction approach designed to be chemistry-agnostic, eliminating the need for prior knowledge of the sample’s chemical composition. We showcase the efficacy of this method through its application on both simulated and experimental X-ray powder diffraction tomography data, acquired from a phantom sample and an NMC532 cylindrical lithium-ion battery.

To read the full paper visit https://www.nature.com/articles/s41524-024-01389-1

Film about our RSC Chemistry Horizon Sir George Stokes Prize

The Royal Society of Chemistry made a short film to celebrate our Royal Society of Chemistry Horizon Sir George Stokes Prize with Sciad Communications and Cambridge FilmWorks. The piece was filmed at the Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and our joint recipients at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY in 2023. Here we speak about our work on the development and application of X-ray diffraction computed tomography to image and identify structure-activity relationships within functional materials and devices. Click on the image below to watch the film.

Read more about our work with chemical imaging and tomography.

Our Chemical Imaging and Tomography training course 2024 is complete

Photo of Training Course 2024 Lectures

Our Chemical Imaging and Tomography training course in collaboration with The University of Manchester is complete and we’ve had a wonderful time with our participants.

Over the course of three days, our expert instructors guided learners through a comprehensive overview of this cutting-edge technology.

Students learned the fundamental principles, covering current instrumentation, and how these approaches are applied using the scattering and spectroscopic methods with emphasis on X-ray diffraction computed tomography (XRD-CT). In addition, our participants were introduced to XRD-CT data processing and analysis using Python, a powerful tool for interpreting chemical imaging data.

By the end of the course, they had new-found confidence to apply these skills to their own research.

Thank you to all of our amazing graduates. We were so impressed by the progress you made and we can’t wait to see the work you’ll accomplish with your newfound knowledge and skills!

Photo of Training Course 2024 Group

Happy International Women’s Day

We are so proud of our WomenInSTEM for their work with us at Finden.

We would like to feature Antonia Bobitan our PhD student who has just completed experiments for her Storming EU Project at the DESY synchrotron.

“We’ve been doing some pretty cool stuff here at DESY beamlines P21.2 and P07, from magnetic induction heating to in situ XRD-CT of batteries.

For the Storming EU Project, we (FINDEN LTD, UCL) have successfully performed in situ/operando XRD experiments of CH₄ conversion to H₂, demonstrating the power of the Fe-based catalysts made by University of Bologna (Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna)!

I’m a person that’s environmentally conscious so I figured this degree would also create some opportunities for me to be involved in the fight against climate change. And it has, especially with the PhD project, which is all about creating carbon-negative H₂ in order to reduce our fossil fuel usage.”

Congratulations and keep up the hard work Antonia!

The project STORMING has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme, under Grant Agreement n° 101069690 and funded through the UKRI Horizon Europe guarantee scheme (Innovate UK project 10044059)

Chemical Imaging and Tomography Training Course 29 April – 1 May 2024

Jumpstart your understanding of advanced chemical imaging & tomography with our three-day course organised with the University of Manchester. Learn about the fundamental principles, current instrumentation, and how these approaches are applied using the scattering and spectroscopic methods with emphasis on X-ray diffraction computed tomography (XRD-CT).

The course includes a 1 day introduction to scientific programming and machine learning with python (optional) and 2 days covering data collection and data analysis including demonstrations of CT data analysis workflows using exemplar real life data provided by us. This course is ideally suited (but not limited) to students and users wanting to understand the exciting potential of advanced CT / chemical imaging methods in their research programs.

View the full programme and download here.

£900 + VAT 2-day course Academic/RTO/Micro company: 30^th April – 01 May 2024
£1,200 + VAT 3-day course Academic/RTO/Micro company: 29^th April – 01 May 2024

£1,200 + VAT 2-day course Industry: 30^th April – 01 May 2024
£1,500 + VAT 3-day course Industry: 29^th April – 01 May 2024

Travel and Contact Information

Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Visitors Centre – Hamilton Room
Fermi Avenue Harwell Campus
Didcot
Oxfordshire

Contact to book

Sarah Batts
Tel: 01235 567497
Email: sarah.batts@manchester.ac.uk

Filming with Sciad Communications and Cambridge FilmWorks

We were so thrilled to have Sciad Communications and Cambridge FilmWorks at the Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory today to talk to us about receiving the Royal Society of Chemistry Horizon Sir George Stokes Prize. We spoke about our work on the development and application of X-ray diffraction computed tomography to image and identify structure-activity relationships within functional materials and devices.

Congratulations on passing your viva Hongyang Dong!

Congratulations to our PhD student Hongyang Dong who has passed his viva!

Hongyang has finished his PhD at the Chemistry department in UCL! He holds MSc degrees in Scientific Computing and a BSc in Physics from UCL. His involvement spans various computing and spectroscopic projects, such as “Developing an intelligent chemical reaction generator” and “Time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) on fluorescence analysis.” Additionally, he completed internships investigating Quadrotor UAV Flight Attitude Control Systems. Hongyang’s PhD entitled “Machine Learning-Based High-Throughput Processing of Chemical Imaging Data” concentrates on employing AI and machine learning for high-throughput chemical imaging data analysis. Proficient in multiple programming languages (Python, C++, Java, C, R), he possesses expertise in high-performance computing and diverse machine learning techniques.

Our Senior Scientist Dr Stephen Price receives poster prize at the Faraday Institution Conference 2023!

The Faraday Institution 2023 Conference was held on the 11th-13th September 2023 with over 500 delegates attending. One of the highlights of the event was the poster sessions and we are delighted to share Dr. Stephen Price was one of the winners of a poster prize.

The judges said Dr. Price’s poster “Probing the hierarchical structure of secondary LiNO2 cathode particles with nano-focussed XRD-CT” demonstrated strong collaborative research across academia, central facilities and industry with clear articulation of methods and results.

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