15th Pharmaceutical Powder X-ray Diffraction Symposium Summary
18-20 August 2017, Hyderabad, India
PPXRD-15 was held 18-20 August 2017, as a satellite meeting to the 24th International Union of Crystallography, (IUCr 2017). Convening in Hyderabad, the sixth most populated city in India, the symposium travelled to this South Asian country offering attendees the opportunity to explore the area’s abundant history and culture. The symposium attracted 65 industrial and academic scientists from 16 different countries for a full-day workshop, and two days of sessions, related to the analysis of pharmaceutical materials.
On Friday morning, Conference Chairman, Tom Blanton, International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD), USA, and Professor G.R. Desiraju, Indian Institute of Science, India, welcomed participants with opening remarks and introductions. Then began a full-day workshop on Powder XRD Applications for Pharmaceutical Product Development, which kept attendees busy for the next nine hours with tutorials from instructors: Raj Suryanarayanan, University of Minnesota, USA; Tom Blanton, International Centre for Diffraction Data, USA; Graciela Diaz de Delgado, University de Los Andes, Venezuela; and Detlef Beckers, PANalytical B.V., The Netherlands. Course participants also received a 30 day license of the ICDD PDF-4+ database and associated software for use during the workshop and later evaluation. Demonstrations of data mining and phase identification were explained and deemed highly useful by attendees.
Oral sessions began early Saturday morning, encompassing such topics as: Qualitative Phase Analysis with XRPD; Quantitative Phase Analysis: Single Peak, Whole-Pattern Methods and Beyond; Formulation and Product Development; Polymorph, Salt and Co-crystal Screening; and Non-Ambient Powder X-ray Diffraction. Sunday morning, attendees were engrossed by talks on various subjects, including: Amorphous, Mesomorphous and Nano Materials; Crystal Structure Prediction, Elucidation and Verification from Powder Diffraction Data; and New Developments/Complementary Techniques.
A poster session and reception was held concurrently with exhibits on Saturday evening. Local foods were enjoyed and good wishes saluted as attendees had the opportunity to relax and socialize.
Technical posters were displayed on various diffraction methods for pharmaceutical materials characterization, and exhibitors from Bruker India Scientific, ICDD, Malvern PANalytical, Proto Manufacturing, and Rigaku Corporation displayed their various products, services and cutting-edge developments.
PPXRD-15 was a productive meeting serving the pharmaceutical X-ray community with a vast array of educational resources and professional partnerships. Special thanks must be sent to ICDD Regional Co-Chair, Professor T.N. Guru Row, whose aid and knowledge as the local organizer guaranteed the symposium’s success.
View the complete PPXRD-15 Technical Program, and learn more about the participating exhibitors. If you have an idea for future symposiums, please feel free to contact any member of the Organizing Committee.
