Pharmaceutical manufacturing depends on chemical reactions and many of those rely on catalysts, the molecular helpers that make reactions faster and cleaner. But traditional catalysts are often single-use, cause unwanted side reactions or require complicated cleanup steps, limiting their usefulness in large-scale drug production.
Jason Bates, assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Virginia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, is leading a new collaboration with Brandon Bukowski, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Johns Hopkins University, to develop better, longer-lasting catalysts for use in pharmaceutical processes. The project is supported by a National Science Foundation grant from the Chemical Catalysis program.
A Smarter Way to Support Catalysts
Their approach centers on anchoring molecular catalysts to solid materials with structured surfaces. This gives the catalysts a more stable environment and helps them work more efficiently and reliably.
“We’re designing catalysts that stay active longer and make higher-purity products,” Bates said. “That could mean cleaner and safer reactions, faster production and fewer costly shutdowns.”
In conventional setups, catalysts float freely in a solution, making them prone to breakdown and harder to recover for reuse. In critical reactions like asymmetric hydrogenation — a cornerstone of pharmaceutical synthesis — these limitations can slow progress and increase waste.
By attaching catalysts to a solid material called a zeolite, the team can better control how reactants interact and prolong catalyst lifetime.
“It’s like sitting in a perfectly fitted ergonomic chair,” Bukowski said. “The zeolite gives the catalyst a well-structured environment conducive to its work, which leads to better performance over time.”
Toward Faster, More Flexible Drug Manufacturing
Today, many medications are produced in large, centralized facilities using batch processes that can be slow, wasteful and hard to adapt. These systems often rely on free-floating catalysts that degrade quickly or create unwanted byproducts, requiring a new batch of expensive catalysts for each production run.
The UVA-Johns Hopkins team’s approach supports a shift toward continuous-flow manufacturing, which runs like a steady, small-scale assembly line. By anchoring catalysts to structured materials that improve stability and reduce side reactions, the team is laying the groundwork for cleaner, more consistent processes that require less intervention.
This breakthrough also could help make pharmaceutical manufacturing more distributed and responsive to emergencies or localized drug shortages. Continuous-flow manufacturing systems can be made smaller and more flexible than traditional batch processing. Medications could then be produced closer to where they’re needed, reducing delays, lowering production costs and helping to ensure patients get the care they need, when they need it.
“Other exciting implications are production of ‘orphan drugs’ for diseases with small patient populations and production in remote locations like developing countries,” Bates said.
Training the Next Generation of Innovators
The grant also supports student training at both universities, from hands-on experiments to computational modeling. Undergraduate and graduate students will gain experience in advanced research and benefit from exchange opportunities between the two institutions.
Bates joined the UVA faculty in 2023. His catalysis research bridges materials science, chemistry and chemical engineering to advance clean, scalable manufacturing systems.