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Steven L. Tripp
Assistant Professor, Chemistry
Office: Science Hall 328
Phone: (765) 677-2560
Email: steven.tripp@indwes.edu
Experience and Education
| 2005 |
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Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Industrial and Physical Pharmacy, Purdue University (Investigation of the stability of solid-state pharmaceutical actives as a function of water activity, purity, crystallinity, and excipient properties) |
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| 2003 |
| Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Physics, Purdue University (Development of cantilever-based sensing research program including gaseous and aqueous sampling procedures and cantilever modification techniques) |
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| 2003 |
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2003 Ph.D., Organic Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. |
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| 1996 |
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1996 B.S., Biology and Chemistry, Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, Ind. |
Current Research
Current pharmaceutical practices do not thoroughly address the effect of excipient hygroscopicity on active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) solid-state stability. Chemical degradation of APIs affects the efficacy of the drug, the processing which can be used during production, and the necessary storage conditions. The excipients used in the formulation can greatly affect the amount of moisture taken up by the system and therefore alter the degradation rate of the API. Better understanding of how excipients affect hygroscopicity of these systems will result in improved chemical stability of formulations, more accurate estimations of shelf-life, and more economical production and packaging of the final dosage form.
Our current research centers on the effects of both crystalline and amorphous excipients on the degradation rates of model APIs. Degradation rates are obtained by mixing model APIs with common pharmaceutical excipients in specified ratios. These formulations are kept under controlled conditions (temperature and relative humidity) for an extended time period. Experiments include variations in excipient hygroscopicity, excipient concentration, particle size, relative humidity and temperature. Chemical analysis is performed at specified time intervals to determine degradation rates. The degradation data is then analyzed as a function of each variable to determine the individual contribution of each parameter. Compilation of the data should ultimately yield a mathematical model for prediction of formulation stability under various conditions.
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