How Fluid Science and De Montfort University are advancing greener pharmaceutical innovation through collaborative research
L-R: Jack Taylor (FS), Simon Taylor (FS), Dr Robert Murnane (DMU), Dr Federico Brucoli (DMU),
Chris Hogan (FS), Asdaq Hussain (FS), Dr Ketan Ruparelia (DMU)
Asdaq Hussain discusses our ongoing Green Chemistry Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Dr Ketan Ruparelia and Dr Federico Brucoli of De Montfort University.
How did the collaboration between Fluid Science and De Montfort University first begin?
The collaboration between Fluid Science (FS) and De Montfort University (DMU) developed through a shared interest in translating innovative scientific research into real-world healthcare applications. Our own journey started with the Innovation-to-Commercialisation of University Research (ICURe) Discover programme (ICURe – Innovate UK Business Connect) that led to the participation at CHEMUK (CHEMUK 2024 EXPO – UK Chemical Industries Supply Chain Expo). It was there that we engaged with Fluid Science to discuss emerging technologies and explore how our academic expertise could align with commercial innovation.
This laid the foundation for a collaborative partnership focused on developing novel anti-cancer compounds and exploring their potential impact.
What attracted both organisations to work together on this project?
Following our first meeting, it soon became apparent that there was a strong alignment between DMU research and technical expertise and FS innovative industrial approach. From the university perspective, there was a real opportunity to apply academic knowledge, advanced analytical techniques, and interdisciplinary research to a project with meaningful societal impact.
For Fluid Science, collaborating with DMU provided access to specialist scientific facilities, technical expertise, and a research-driven environment that could support the development and evaluation of novel compounds.
Both organisations were motivated by a shared goal of developing solutions that could improve patient outcomes while also creating opportunities for innovation, student engagement, and future research development.
What problem are you trying to solve with these novel anti-cancer compounds?
The project is focused on addressing one of the major challenges in cancer drug design involving the use of harmful solvents and non-sustainable methods for their production.
A set of anticancer compounds is currently explored through DMU-FS collaboration with the aim of providing a green chemistry route for their synthesis. We also seek to better understand how these compounds behave, how effective they may be, and how they could contribute to future therapeutic strategies.
Why is green chemistry becoming so important in pharmaceutical development?
Green chemistry is becoming increasingly important in pharmaceutical development because the industry is under growing pressure to create more sustainable, efficient, and environmentally responsible manufacturing processes. Traditional chemical synthesis can often involve enormous amounts of hazardous solvents, high energy consumption, and significant chemical waste.
Sustainability is no longer viewed as an optional extra, but it is becoming central to future pharmaceutical innovation. Green chemistry allows researchers and companies to reduce environmental impact while also improving efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness.
As part of the collaborative project between DMU and FS, green chemistry principles are applied to the development of novel compounds using cleaner and more sustainable methods. This aligns with wider industry goals around responsible innovation and future-proofing pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Can you explain what makes these compounds different from conventional anti-cancer molecules?
What makes these novel compounds particularly exciting is their potential to offer a different approach to
anti-cancer activity compared with more conventional therapies. Many traditional anti-cancer drugs can lack selectivity, meaning they may damage healthy cells as well as cancer cells, which often leads to severe side effects.
The compounds being investigated in this project are designed with the aim of improving effectiveness while potentially reducing toxicity and improving targeting. In addition, the methods being used to synthesise and develop these compounds incorporate more sustainable and innovative chemistry approaches, which is an important distinction from many conventional pharmaceutical development pathways.
How important is mechanochemistry and ball mill synthesis to the future of this project?
Mechanochemistry and ball mill synthesis are extremely important to the future direction of this project because they represent a more sustainable and innovative way of producing chemical compounds. Rather than relying heavily on large volumes of solvents and energy-intensive processes, mechanochemistry uses mechanical force to drive chemical reactions, often making synthesis cleaner, faster, and more environmentally friendly.
This approach strongly reflects the principles of green chemistry, which are becoming increasingly important across the pharmaceutical sector.
For this collaboration, ball mill synthesis provides an opportunity to explore more efficient routes for producing novel anti-cancer compounds while reducing waste and improving sustainability. It also opens possibilities for scaling future development in a way that aligns with modern pharmaceutical and environmental expectations.
What advantages does solvent-free synthesis offer compared to traditional chemistry methods?
Solvent-free synthesis offers several important advantages compared with traditional chemical synthesis methods, particularly in terms of sustainability, efficiency, and safety. Conventional pharmaceutical synthesis often relies on enormous quantities of organic solvents, many of which can be hazardous, expensive to dispose of, and environmentally damaging.
By reducing or eliminating solvent use, solvent-free synthesis can significantly decrease chemical waste, lower environmental impact, and improve laboratory safety. It can also simplify purification processes and reduce overall energy consumption.
How does this collaboration help bridge the gap between academic research and commercial innovation?
This collaboration creates a strong connection between academic expertise and industrial application. DMU provides access to advanced research facilities, analytical expertise, and scientific investigation, while Fluid Science brings commercial focus, innovation strategy, and real-world industry perspectives.
By working together, both organisations can exchange knowledge, develop solutions more efficiently, and ensure that scientific discoveries are explored with both research quality and commercial relevance in mind. This helps shorten the pathway from early-stage discovery to potential real-world healthcare impact.
What role does the KTP partnership play in accelerating development?
The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) plays a vital role in accelerating development by creating a structured framework for collaboration between industry and academia. It enables the sharing of specialist expertise, facilities, and resources while maintaining a strong focus on innovation and practical outcomes.
The KTP helps ensure that research progresses with clear objectives, regular collaboration, and continuous knowledge exchange between DMU and Fluid Science. It also supports the development of highly skilled researchers and associates who can work across both academic and commercial environments.
From our perspective, the KTP creates momentum by bringing together scientific research, technical problem-solving, and commercial strategy within a single collaborative project. This significantly enhances the speed and direction of innovation.
How significant is the development of proprietary analogue libraries for Fluid Science?
The development of proprietary analogue libraries is highly significant because it provides Fluid Science with a strong platform for innovation, intellectual property development, and future therapeutic exploration. These libraries allow researchers to systematically study variations in molecular structure and better understand how those changes influence biological activity and therapeutic potential.
Having a unique library of compounds also creates opportunities for identifying more effective and selective anti-cancer candidates. From an innovation perspective, this strengthens the company’s long-term research capability and competitive position within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.
The collaboration with DMU supports this process by providing analytical expertise and scientific evaluation that can help characterise and optimise these novel compounds more effectively.
What potential impact could these compounds have on future cancer therapies?
These compounds have the potential to contribute towards the development of more targeted and effective cancer treatments. One of the major goals in oncology research is to improve therapeutic performance while reducing harmful side effects associated with many existing treatments.
By exploring novel compound structures and environmentally sustainable synthesis approaches, this collaboration aims to identify new possibilities for more selective therapeutic strategies. While research is still ongoing, the long-term ambition is to contribute to safer and more efficient treatment options for patients.
Equally important is the fact that these compounds are being developed alongside greener and more sustainable synthesis methods, which supports the future direction of pharmaceutical manufacturing as well as therapeutic innovation.
How does sustainability influence the scientific direction of this collaboration?
Sustainability is a major influence on the scientific direction of this collaboration. Rather than focusing only on the end therapeutic outcome, the project also considers how compounds are developed, synthesised, and potentially manufactured in a more environmentally responsible way.
The use of mechanochemistry, ball milling, and solvent-free synthesis reflects a conscious effort to reduce waste, minimise hazardous solvent use, and improve process efficiency.
What are some of the biggest scientific challenges currently being explored?
One of the biggest scientific challenges is understanding how to optimise the develop scalable and sustainable synthesis of the anticancer compounds using mechanochemistry and solvent-free approaches.
What excites you most about the future of this partnership?
What excites us both most is the opportunity to contribute research that combines scientific innovation, sustainability, real-world healthcare impact. This partnership demonstrates how academia and industry can work together to tackle complex challenges while also developing innovative approaches to pharmaceutical research. It is exciting to be part of a collaboration that is forward-thinking, multidisciplinary, and focused on creating meaningful scientific and societal impact.
Where do you see this collaboration and technology platform progressing over the next few years?
Over the next few years, we see this collaboration continuing to strengthen through deeper research, expanded analogue libraries, and further optimisation of sustainable synthesis technologies. The integration of mechanochemistry and green chemistry approaches could help establish a scalable platform for future pharmaceutical development.
We also see strong potential for broader industrial collaboration, increased research opportunities, and the development of intellectual property around novel compounds and synthesis methodologies. As the project progresses, there may be opportunities to move promising compounds towards more advanced biological evaluation and potentially future therapeutic development pathways.
Why is it important for companies like Fluid Science to invest in scientific innovation internally?
Internal scientific innovation allows companies to remain adaptable, competitive, and forward-thinking in rapidly evolving sectors such as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. By investing in research and development internally, companies can build unique expertise, generate intellectual property, and respond more effectively to emerging scientific challenges.
Innovation also creates opportunities to develop entirely innovative technologies and approaches rather than relying solely on existing solutions. Through collaborations with universities such as DMU, companies can strengthen this innovation ecosystem even further by combining commercial insight with academic expertise and advanced.
Could this work eventually lead to broader applications beyond oncology?
Yes, there is potential for broader applications beyond oncology. Many pharmaceutical platforms and novel compound technologies developed for one therapeutic area can later be adapted or explored for other biomedical challenges.
The sustainable synthesis approaches being developed through mechanochemistry and solvent-free chemistry may also have applications far beyond cancer research, including wider pharmaceutical manufacturing and materials science. The flexibility of analogue library development creates opportunities to investigate how these.
What makes this collaboration unique compared to traditional university partnerships?
What makes this collaboration particularly unique is the strong integration of sustainability, innovation, and translational research within a highly collaborative environment. Rather than operating as separate academic and industrial entities, both organisations are actively contributing expertise, ideas, and strategic direction towards shared goals.
How important is affordability and scalability when developing future therapeutics?
Affordability and scalability are critical in future therapeutic development. Scientific breakthroughs only achieve real societal impact if they can eventually be manufactured efficiently, sustainably, and at a scale that supports patient access.
That is one reason why sustainable chemistry approaches are becoming so important. Methods such as solvent-free synthesis and mechanochemistry have the potential to reduce waste, energy usage, and manufacturing costs while improving process efficiency. Developing therapies with scalability in mind from the early research stages helps create more realistic pathways towards future clinical and commercial translation.
What message would you give to future researchers and innovators entering this field?
We would encourage future researchers and innovators to remain curious, collaborative, and open to interdisciplinary thinking. Some of the most exciting scientific advances happen when different areas of expertise come together to solve complex problems.
The experiences through iCURE Discover and CHEMUK showed the academic team at DMU how valuable communication, networking, and industry engagement are alongside technical expertise. Science today is not only about discovery in the laboratory — it is also about understanding impact, sustainability, collaboration, and translation into real-world solutions.
Most importantly, innovation often begins with asking questions and being willing to explore innovative approaches that challenge conventional thinking.
Can you tell us the story behind DMU-212 and how the analogue first came into existence?
DMU-212 represents an exciting example of how academic research can evolve into wider innovation and collaborative development. This compound emerged through ongoing scientific exploration starting from a natural product (resveratrol) and leading to novel bioactive compounds with improved anti-cancer activity compared with existing therapeutic approaches.
The development process involved investigating how structural modifications of the molecular frameworks of early analogues could influence biological behaviour and therapeutic potential of subsequent generation of derivatives. Over time, this led to the creation and refinement of analogue compounds such as DMU-212, helping establish a platform for further research and innovation.
What makes the story particularly interesting is how the research journey has continued to evolve through collaborations like the partnership between Fluid Science and De Montfort University. The KTP project demonstrates how early-stage academic discoveries can become part of a larger innovation pathway involving sustainable synthesis, analytical research, and potential future therapeutic applications.