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Abstract:

Ever since the academic 'rediscovery' of electrohydrodynamic processing in the 1990s, this manufacturing technique's impressive potential to be effectively utilized in a wide variety of applications in different industries became undeniable. In theory, electrohydrodynamic processing allows for the low specific power consuming production of complex (polymer) particles and fibers with micro- or nano-sized characteristic lengthscales with tailored properties/morphologies in a relatively simple setup. However, in reality, the interplay between the large amount of process parameters and fluid properties of the solution fed to the process makes the manufacturing of the desired products far from trivial. Throughout this PhD work, the electrohydrodynamic process has been exploited to develop novel complex formulations with tailored properties best suited for the desired applications. Not only was this manufacturing technique successful in delivering satisfactory products which provide a solution to current challenges prevalent in the pharmaceutical industry, but the application-oriented research strategy provoked the drive to gain a better comprehension of the physical side of the process and to investigate more thoroughly the distinct formulation properties to acquire the wanted product characteristics while maintaining stable processing. The combination of the different projects undertaken in this PhD highlights the impressive potential of the different forms of electrohydrodynamic processing, demonstrates the large array of viable applications, identifies various formulation properties with a crucial impact on the product performance and reveals the possible presence of significant polymer degradation.