Public Thesis Defense of Ting Wen - IMCN

Ionic Cocrystals: From Crystal Design to Chiral Resolution by Ting Wen -

Mardi 20 octobre 2026 à 16h15 - Auditoire LAVO51 - Bâtiment Lavoisier - Place Louis Pasteur, 1 - 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve -

Chirality is of fundamental importance in chemistry and pharmaceutical science, creating a continuing need for efficient strategies to obtain enantiopure compounds. Ionic cocrystals (ICCs) offer new opportunities for crystal engineering and chiral resolution, yet their design and application in chiral resolution remain underexplored. This thesis investigates ionic cocrystallization for solid form design and crystallization-based chiral resolution. Ionic cocrystallization of sodium profen salts with carbohydrates revealed recurring structural features and improved solid-state properties. Diastereomeric ICCs formed between racemic sodium ibuprofen and D-proline enabled efficient enantiomer separation. Investigation of the mandelic acid/L-proline system further demonstrated that ionization-state switching can reverse the thermodynamically preferred cocrystal, enabling sequential recovery of both enantiomers. Overall, this thesis provides insights into ICC formation and demonstrates the potential of ionic cocrystallization for crystallization-based chiral resolution.

Jury members :
Prof. Tom Leyssens (UCLouvain) (Supervisor)
Prof. Eric Gaigneaux (UCLouvain) (Chairperson)
Prof. Koen Robeyns (UCLouvain) (Secretary)
Dr. Luc Aerts (UCB) 
Dr. Fucheng Leng (BeOne Medicines)

Pay attention : the public defense of Ting Wen will also take place in the form of a videoconference (Meeting ID:343 930 770 565 524 9 - Passcode:VA9Jj7JQ)