# Continuous liquid-liquid extractors for doubling of productivity and henhancement of batch based drug manufacturing

> **NIH NIH R43** · ZAIPUT FLOW TECHNOLOGIES LLC · 2021 · $247,065

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing is struggling to meet demands. It is therefore
imperative to develop tools to rapidly increase the productivity of existing production plants.
Manufacturing of pharmaceuticals currently relies almost entirely on batch-based chemical
synthesis. In this approach, chemical synthesis takes place in several separate steps within
large reactors. Synthesis in continuous flow (with chemicals flowing continuously during the
reaction process) is emerging as a more efficient alternative. However, synthesis in continuous
flow is not being widely adopted due to several practical reasons, including the need for major
investments to overhaul existing production plants.
Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) represents the most frequent post-reaction step in pharmaceutical
syntheses. Importantly, while technologies currently used for LLE in the context of batch
synthesis are a bottleneck that dramatically reduces process efficiency, LLE extraction in
continuous flow is highly efficient. Existing technologies for LLE in flow cannot currently be used
in batch-based manufacturing plants because their maximum flow rate is too low to meet the
demands of batch-based production plants.
Here, we propose to develop a novel, high capacity system to implement LLE in continuous flow
in the context of batch-based pharmaceutical synthesis. We envision a plug and play, portable,
high flow rate, self-tuning device deployable in existing pharmaceutical production plants without
the need to overhaul production processes. To build this system, in the Phase I of this SBIR, we
will address the key technological innovations needed to build a self-standing, high capacity
continuous LLE system compatible with large-scale batch-based pharmaceutical production.
Namely, we will: 1) develop a continuous flow liquid-liquid extraction system able to handle high
(turbulent) flow rates and 2) we will develop a self-tunable pressure control system able to
support the operation of such a device with minimal external control. In the Phase II of this
SBIR, we will take advantage of these technological innovations to create a user-friendly
product ready for deployment within existing pharmaceutical production plants.
If successful, this project will produce a tool able to immediately increase the productivity of
existing pharmaceutical plants from 2 to 5-fold. This product will redefine the landscape of
pharmaceutical production in the United States and beyond.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10153085
- **Project number:** 1R43GM140701-01
- **Recipient organization:** ZAIPUT FLOW TECHNOLOGIES LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Andrea Adamo
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $247,065
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-05-01 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10153085

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10153085, Continuous liquid-liquid extractors for doubling of productivity and henhancement of batch based drug manufacturing (1R43GM140701-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10153085. Licensed CC0.

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