Innovative Thinking and Entrepreneurial Action in the Commercialization of Chemical Technologies
Speaker:
Andrew H. Bond, Ph.D. - COO & Co-Founder, DeNovX
DeNovX
Description:
The ways in which fundamental research informs applied research are frequently tortuous and discontinuous between the time of knowledge acquisition and its deployment, but the benefits of cross fertilization in multidisciplinary research and development teams are clear and critical to solving the most pressing challenges in the modern sciences. Four scientific vignettes will be presented to illustrate a multidisciplinary approach to problem solving along with the foundational characteristics of thinking innovatively, persevering, and executing that are vital to success in the scientific entrepreneurial venture. Examples will be drawn from: (1) fundamental studies of Bi(III) structural coordination chemistry with cyclic and acyclic polyether ligands and how these informed future work in therapeutic nuclear medicine; (2) an innovative adaptation of the poorly understood and highly undesirable phenomenon of solvent extraction third phase formation to the process-scale purification of the cis-syn-cis and cis-anti-cis isomers of 4,4’(5’)-di-t-butylcylcohexano-18-crown-6, which is an important extractant in radioactive waste management; (3) bucking convention in nuclear medicine generator design to more efficiently produce radionuclides of unparalleled chemical and radionuclidic purity by using the concept of selectivity inversion; and (4) the development of new surface science approaches to improving the crystallization of proteins and small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients for crystallographic characterization, purification, and manufacturing activities. A few best practices (less elegantly known as hard-learned lessons) for the entrepreneurial scientist will be communicated throughout.