About STK

  The Swiss Society for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry has been founded in 1975. The foundation members elected Prof. H. R. Oswald, Institute for Inorganic Chemistry, University of Zürich as president for the period of 1975-1978. Since 1979, Dr. E. Marti, who was Scientific Expert of Ciba-Geigy AG Basel over many years, is the president of STK. Members are coming from all parts of Switzerland and also from different countries of Europe. Members are active in many different branches of industry such as research, chemical and physical development, quality control. The chemical industry and particularly the pharmaceutical industry is well represented. Another group of members are coming from universities, research institutes and governmental institutes. The society is the vehicle for the exchange of scientific information, scientific and development results as well as a platform for the presentation and elucidation of theories, new intrumentation and new methods. The activities of the members of our society are covering the areas of substances, formulations and materials related to organic and inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, polymer chemistry, pharmacy, plant protection, food sience. The STK promotes in all these areas applied physical chemistry with the great variety of subfields such as chemical thermodynamics, kinetics and chemical reaction theories, catalysis, spectroscopy, solid state and liquid state characterization.

  Instrumentation, Methods and Trends
The instrumentation and methods anticipated in our activities are a great number of different thermoanalytical techniques such as Differental Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA), Thermogravimetry (TG), Thermomechanical Analysis (TMA) and Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), Dynamic dielectric instruments (DEA). The titration calorimetry is a research technique which enables to study binding processes, especially applied to the complex formation between pharmaceutical or agrochemical substances and substrates such as biopolymers, liposomes, membranes, cells and tissues. The obtained titration curves can be evaluated under certain assumptions. Thermodynamic data, namely the binding constant, the enthalpy and the entropy of binding and the number of binding sites are obtained with one titration curve. Additionally a baseline curve is necessary to determine the heat of mixing under the given conditions.

A variety of different types of intruments are existing which combine a sample cell which may be heated or even cooled, mainely with a linear temperature program, with methods such as UV and visible spectroscopy. With these instruments, often no enthalpy change can be measured as a function of temperature and time, however, with a thermodynamic evaluation of the obtained spectroscopical data, one can get under certain assumptions – van’t Hoff equation – results which may be compared with calorimetric measurements.

Further combined arrangements are commercially available such as temperature resolved X-ray diffraction, temperature resolved FT-IR or FT-IR microscopy, or even the combination with Raman spectroscopy. Photocalorimetry combines an optical treatment of a sample with a calorimetric measurement. A promising development is the introduction of a combination between the atomic force microscopy with a miniature resistive heater and temperature measuring device.

Coupled instruments are commercially available or are existing in self-built versions in a combination of different thermoanalytical instruments with a variety of spectroscopical methods. The basic principle of coupled instruments is an arrangement with a transfer of evaporated gases from a sample within a thermoanalytical instrument into a spectroscopic one. These coupled instruments are opening possibilities which enormous benefits for scientific and development projects. One can claim that the time of the classical thermal analysis is over. However, one should also take into consideration the enormous benefits of the whole group of classical thermoanalytical instruments in detecting an extrem broad variety of molecular, domain or phase related phenomena with unspecific data such as enthalpy or weight changes. Coupled instruments are existing in combinations of many different thermoanalytical instruments with spectroscopical ones. Two subgroups are existing one without a separation system between the coupled instruments and the second with a chromatographic separation (GC, LC). Such separation systems are important especially in the coupling with mass spectrometers (MS) with the extrem high ionization energy which is imposed on the molecules emitted from the sample. As a consequence a great number of molecular fragments are formed. A separation system enables in many cases to separate the molecules coming from the thermoanalytical instrument according to boiling points (GC) or according to partition coefficients into consecutive fractions of pure molecules and therefore even complex molecular reaction pathways such as chemical decomposition or pyrolysis products can be elucidated. Possible combinations of coupled instruments are: TG-MS, TG-IR, TG-FTIR, DSC (DTA)-MS, DSC-GC-MS and others. These hyphenated techniques brought new chances to the whole area of Applied Physical Chemistry. The today situation in the discussed field of classical and non-classical thermoanalytical instrumentation is looking extrem promising for the near future. The Swiss Society for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry organizes every year an annual meeting and from time to time joint meetings with the French, the German or the Italian partner societies e.g. in Rapperswil 1979, in Geneva 1982, in Basel 1989 and 1998, in Freiburg 1996. An international meeting, the ESTAC (European Symposium for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry), was organized 1984 in Interlaken. In 1992 a new European Society namely eurostar was born with a nucleus of the scientific colleagues of the president of the STK. Eurostar is organizing scientific conferences in Europe with support from the STK and also with joint meetings between eurostar and STK. The PhandTA3 (3^rd Symposium/Workshops on Pharmacy and Thermal Analysis) has been held in October 1997 at the Centro Stefano Franscini, Monte Verità, Ascona. The basic goal of the board members of eurostar is the organization of subject focussed conferences only in Europe, similar to the Gordon Research Conferences following the ideas of Dr. Paul Rhyner, the long-time president of the "Schweizerische Chemiker Verband" and the head of the Central Research Function of Ciba-Geigy AG, Basel.

  STK und eurostar promotes research on a high level and is presenting nearly every year an Award for "Applied Chemical Thermodynamics". The 16 Awardees represent the main scientific activities of our society.

The Awardees, the year of the dedication are given below:

1982      Prof. Dr. Max Müller-Vonmoos, ETH Zürich, CH

1984      Prof. Dr. Ingemar Wadsö, Universität Lund, S

1985      Dr. Hans Georg Wiedemann, Mettler-Toledo GmbH,Schwerzenbach, CH

1986      Dr. Willy Regenass, Ciba-Geigy AG, Basel, CH

1987      Prof. Dr. Heiko Cammenga, TU Braunschweig, D

1988      Prof. Dr. Armin Reller, Universität Hamburg, D

1989      Prof. Dr. Attilio Cesàro, Universität Trieste, I

              Prof. Dr. Vittorio Crescenzi, Universität Rom, I

1990      Prof. Dr. Hans-Rudolf Oswald, Universität Zürich, CH

1992      Frau Dr. Danièle Giron, Sandoz Pharma AG, Basel, CH

1993      Prof. Dr. Bernhard Wunderlich, Universität von Tennessee, Knoxville und Oak Ridge Nat. Lab., USA

1994      Prof. Dr. Anthony E. Beezer, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

1995      Prof. Dr. Stanislaus Randzio, Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, P

1996      Frau Prof. Dr. Ellen Ivers-Tiffée, Universität Karlsruhe, D

1997      Prof. Dr. Jörg W. Stucki, Universität Bern, CH

1998      Prof. Dr. Jean-Pierre E. Grolier, Université Blaise Pascal, Clermond-Ferrand, F

1999      Dr. Manfred Holz, Universität Karlsruhe, D

  The Prize for "Young Scientists" has been introduced five years ago.
      The list of the Prize Winners "Young Scientists" is as follows:

1994      Dr. Ian Marison, Chemical Institute, EPFL, Lausanne,CH
              for "Applied Biocalorimetry"

             Martin Szelagiewicz, Novartis Services AG,Physik, Basel, CH
             for "Applied Chemical Thermodynamics"

1995     Dr. Peter Kuhn, Paul Scherrer Institut, Villingen, CH
             for "Thermochemistry and Solar Energy Research"

             Dr. Paul Hug, Anorganisch-chemisches Institut, Universität Zürich, Irchel, CH
             for "Thermal Analysis in Solid State Chemistry"

1996     Dr. Michael Bernhard Mutz, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, CH
             for "Biophysical Chemistry of Pharmaceutical Relevant Biomolecules"

1997    Frau Dr. Annette D. Bauer-Brandl, Pharmazeutisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg i.Brsg., D
             for "Pharmaceutical Technology"

1999    Dr. Ulrich J. Griesser, University of Innsbruck, A
            for "Solid State Characterization in Pharmacy"

   STK and eurostar cooperate in a mutual agreement and with a collaboration which enables a high degree of exchange of scientific information in basic research as well as in the cooperation with universities, industry and instrument manufacturers. As an practical example, the knowledge of inorganic solid-state chemistry and solid-state characterization has been transferred with the STK as vehicle to the organic chemistry, not only within the scientific societies, but also as a global network to the chemical, pharmaceutical and agrochemical companies. Such a know-how transfer has been a process over the period of nearly 25 years. In future further activities will be organized such as the PhandTA5 from 19 – 21 September 2000 at the University of Basel, Switzerland and the 25^th Anniversary Meeting of the STK at September 22, 2000.

Contact

Board of STK

Forthcoming activities

The annual meeting in 2000 takes place at September 21, 2000 in Basel, Switzerland during the PhandTA 5 of eurostar. Starting time is 12:00.
The General Assembly of the STK: 13:00 to 13:30.

The 25^th Anniversary meeting will not take place on Friday 22, 2000 as announced, but is postponed to Spring 2001.