Meet Koudi Zhu

Senior Analytical Scientist, IFF Pharma Solutions

Her Curiosity Drives Innovation

Koudi Zhu is leading cutting-edge advancements in excipient formulation at IFF Pharma Solutions, and we couldn’t be prouder! Her curiosity and passion for learning carried her from her early days as an analytical chemist to where she is today – one of IFF’s most revered experts in separation science (the science used by a laboratory to separate a mixture into its components; also called chromatography).

In 2023, Koudi played a key role in launching IFF’s first certified low-nitrite excipient, Avicel® LN microcrystalline cellulose, and her ground-breaking work continues. Koudi and her colleagues at IFF Pharma Solutions have developed advanced methods for nitrite determination in microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and hydroxypropyl methylcelluose (HPMC) using ion chromatography mass spectrometry. Both methods have been peer reviewed and published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis (August 2023 and June 2024 respectively).

Why is this important? Potentially harmful nitrosamines can form during the manufacture of certain drugs when nitrite and amines co-exist in the process. By quantifying and reducing nitrites in excipients, Koudi is helping the pharmaceutical industry mitigate nitrosamine impurities, which makes medications safer for patients.

You can read about ion chromatography mass spectrometry (IC-MS) for the detection of nitrites in MCC, and her most recent work about two-dimensional ion chromatography mass spectrometry (2D-IC/MS) for nitrite determination in HPMC. The latter is accessible at no charge until August 27, 2024.

Koudi will soon defend for her PhD in analytical chemistry from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and her important work in the lab goes on. In her free time, Koudi enjoys hiking with her family and her dog. She’s also been known to dabble in the kitchen – cooking up some favorite authentic Chinese recipes.

“I am currently working on validating a universal 2D-IC/MS method for accurate nitrite measurement in all excipients,” she said. “Also, I’m helping to implement the 2D-IC/MS method in our Midland (Michigan, USA) QC lab.”

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