Liana Vella-Zarb

Prof. Dr. Liana Vella-Zarb

University of Malta
orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

22Years (2005-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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15 August 2013 in Journal of the American Chemical Society
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Journal Article
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STSarah E. Tallentire
Sarah E. Tallentire
FCFelicity Child
Felicity Child
IFIan Fall
Ian Fall
Liana Vella-ZarbLiana Vella-Zarb
Liana Vella-Zarb
IEIvana Evans
Ivana Evans
JEJohn S. O. Evans
John S. O. Evans

1 April 2015 in Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
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Journal Article
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CGChristine Grossjohann
Christine Grossjohann
DSDolores R Serrano
Dolores R Serrano
KPKrzysztof J. Paluch
Krzysztof J. Paluch
POPeter O’connell
Peter O’connell
Liana Vella-ZarbLiana Vella-Zarb
Liana Vella-Zarb
Anne Marie HealyAnne Marie Healy
Anne Marie Healy
Polymorphism of crystalline drugs is a common phenomenon. However, the number of reported polymorphic cocrystals is very limited. In this work, the synthesis and solid-state characterization of a polymorphic cocrystal composed of sulfadimidine (SD) and 4-aminosalicylic acid (4-ASA) is reported for the first time. By liquid-assisted milling, the SD:4-ASA 1:1 form I cocrystal, the structure of which has been previously reported, was formed. By spray drying, a new polymorphic form (form II) of the SD:4-ASA 1:1 cocrystal was discovered which could also be obtained by solvent evaporation from ethanol and acetone. Structure determination of the form II cocrystal was calculated using high-resolution X-ray powder diffraction. The solubility of the SD:4-ASA 1:1 cocrystal was dependent on the pH and predicted by a model established for a two amphoteric component cocrystal. The form I cocrystal was found to be thermodynamically more stable in aqueous solution than form II, which showed transformation to form I. Dissolution studies revealed that the dissolution rate of SD from both cocrystals was enhanced when compared with a physical equimolar mixture and pure SD.

20 December 2013 in Crystal Growth & Design
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Journal Article
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BHBethany I. Harriss
Bethany I. Harriss
Liana Vella-ZarbLiana Vella-Zarb
Liana Vella-Zarb
CWClaire Wilson
Claire Wilson
IEIvana Evans
Ivana Evans

26 June 2014 in CrystEngComm
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Liana Vella-ZarbLiana Vella-Zarb
Liana Vella-Zarb
DBDario Braga
Dario Braga
AOA. Guy Orpen
A. Guy Orpen
Ulrich BaischUlrich Baisch
Ulrich Baisch
The hydrogen bonding patterns of melamine as well as mono- and diprotonated melamine have been analysed in five crystal structures of a solvate, a cocrystal and three organic and inorganic salts, namely, melamine DMSO solvate ([mel]·DMSO (1)), melamine theobromine cocrystal ([mel]·[TBR]3 (2)), dimelaminium ethylenediaminetetraacetate ([mel-H]2[EDTA-H2]·2H2O (3)), anhydrous dimelaminium sulfate ([mel-H]2[SO4] (4)), and anhydrous melaminium dinitrate ([mel-H2][NO3]2 (5)). Melamine is a versatile molecular building block (tecton) in cocrystals, solvates and salts. Depending on the degree of protonation and/or other molecules or ions present in the structure, parallels could be drawn to determine whether melamine is arranged in a cross-linked manner, in undulating sheets or in the form of perfectly planar sheets in the structure. Graph set analysis was used to compare the geometry of hydrogen bond interactions of the new structures with those of other structures published in the literature. Solvent drop-assisted solid state reactions (kneading) were performed for “green” synthesis of the compounds. The organic salt 3 has high thermal stability as shown by variable-temperature X-ray powder diffraction, which is presumably related to its extensive hydrogen bond network. Rietveld refinements were carried out on laboratory powder diffraction data to confirm the structures of the compounds obtained from single-crystal data.

1 March 2020 in Annalen der Physik
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JGJames N. Grima-Cornish
James N. Grima-Cornish
Liana Vella-ZarbLiana Vella-Zarb
Liana Vella-Zarb
Joseph N. GrimaJoseph N. Grima
Joseph N. Grima