Spray Drying of Vaccines - From Laboratory Research to Industrial Applications

This book addresses the stabilization of vaccine powders by spray drying and provides an overview of the current state of the art on a laboratory and industrial scale. The book aims to familiarize readers with the advances in vaccine spray drying technology to understand its application potential better. In particular, the book addresses the design of aseptic spray dryers, parameters affecting the spray drying process, sterile powder processing, cleaning procedures, and powder filling. In addition, different drying technologies for the production of dry powder vaccines are compared to discuss the unique capabilities of spray drying as a particle technology for vaccines. Special attention is given to research studies on spray-dried vaccines published over the past 30 years, with key findings from laboratory research to clinical trials. Potential applications of spray-dried vaccines and routes of administration are presented in detail. Finally, an outlook is given on how close the aseptic spray-drying of vaccines is to the market and the challenges that need to be overcome to be commercially successful. The book's target audience is academics, researchers, vaccine developers, industry experts, students, and possibly funders, including government agencies, who are active in the field. In addition, the book is a reference source for those involved in the vaccine formulation and biopharmaceutical processing industry.

Dr. Cordin Arpagaus is a process engineer and received his master's degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) in 2001. In 2005, he completed his doctorate (Dr. sc. techn.) at the Institute of Process Engineering at ETH Zurich in the field of plasma treatment of polymer powders. He also holds a master's degree in business administration from ETH Zurich. 

Dr. Arpagaus then worked for several years in industry in management positions of Swiss companies active in laboratory and process technology. Between 2006 and 2011, he was global product group manager for laboratory spray dryers and encapsulation systems at BUCHI Labortechnik AG (Flawil, Switzerland). His primary focus was developing new nano spray drying technologies and analyzing recent market trends in the pharmaceutical, materials, and food industries. From 2011 to 2015, he was team leader of technical support for sensors and laboratory products at Hamilton Bonaduz AG (Switzerland).

Since April 2015, he has been back in academia and working as a Senior Research Engineer at the Institute of Energy Systems at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences in Buchs. His research activities focus on thermal energy systems and energy efficiency in industrial processes, focusing on multi-temperature and high-temperature heat pumps, and heat pumps with turbo-compressors.

He has extensive professional experience in process engineering in research and industry with particular interest in spray drying, heat pumps, and plasma processes. So far, Dr. Arpagaus has published more than 50 research articles and reviews papers in international journals, authored a book on high-temperature heat pumps, written several book chapters on nano spray drying, and given numerous presentations at international conferences.

Dr. Arpagaus is an active researcher in the International Drying Symposium series, a member of the Swiss Society of Process and Chemical Engineers (SGVC), the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), and a reviewer of several international journals, including International Journal of Refrigeration, Applied Thermal Energy, Applied Energy, Renewable and Sustained Energy Reviews, Energy, Trends in Food Science & Technology, Food and Bioproducts Processing, Food Hydrocolloids, Powder Technology, Additive Manufacturing, MDPI Materials, and MDPI Pharmaceuticals.