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The question addressed in this paper is whether cotton textiles mercerized with liquid ammonia (L-NH3) can be distinguished from NaOH mercerized cotton textiles with FTIR-ATR spectroscopy. In collaboration with a process-house, cotton textiles were treated with L-NH3, NaOH, neither or both. The treatment conditions were set to mimic commercial-scale operations. The samples were then analyzed with FTIR-ATR spectroscopy, and for comparison, also with powder X-ray diffraction. The analyses were aimed at detecting changes in the cellulose crystal lattice structure that result from the two mercerization processes. The measured spectra and diffractograms were evaluated both visually and with Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and the results show that with FTIR-ATR spectroscopy it was possible to differentiate between the untreated, L-NH3 mercerized and NaOH mercerized textiles, whereas with X-ray diffraction it was difficult to detect differences between the untreated and treated samples. The better performance of FTIR-ATR spectroscopy is attributed to the method being more sensitive to changes on sample surfaces, whereas X-ray diffraction results are more representative of the sample bulk. The samples were treated under conditions mimicking commercial-scale operations, which are optimized to maximize treatment speed. Hence, the mercerization induced changes are likely to be limited to sample surfaces and hence detectable with FTIR-ATR spectroscopy but not with X-ray diffraction. It is reported that Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy, another surface-limited analytical method, may also be employed for detection of mercerization type, but FTIR-ATR spectroscopy has the advantages of ease of operation and the devices are less expensive.

Two bipyridine isomers (2,2′- and 4,4′-), used as coformers and ligands in coordination chemistry, were subjected to solid form screening and crystal structure prediction. One anhydrate and a formic acid disolvate were crystallized for 2,2′-bipyridine, whereas multiple solid-state forms, anhydrate, dihydrate, and eight solvates with carboxylic acids, including a polymorphic acetic acid disolvate, were found for the 4,4′-isomer. Seven of the solvates are reported for the first time, and structural information is provided for six of the new solvates. All twelve solid-state forms were investigated comprehensively using experimental [thermal analysis, isothermal calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, gravimetric moisture (de)sorption, and IR spectroscopy] and computational approaches. Lattice and interaction energy calculations confirmed the thermodynamic driving force for disolvate formation, mediated by the absence of H-bond donor groups of the host molecules. The exposed location of the N atoms in 4,4′-bipyridine facilitates the accommodation of bigger carboxylic acids and leads to higher conformational flexibility compared to 2,2′-bipyridine. For the 4,4′-bipyridine anhydrate ↔ hydrate interconversion hardly any hysteresis and a fast transformation kinetics are observed, with the critical relative humidity being at 35% at room temperature. The computed anhydrate crystal energy landscapes have the 2,2′-bipyridine as the lowest energy structure and the 4,4′-bipyridine among the low-energy structures and suggest a different crystallization behavior of the two compounds., The solid form landscapes of 2,2′- and 4,4′-bipyridine were explored experimentally and computationally. The position of the nitrogen atoms defines not only the conformational flexibility of the molecule but also the crystallization behavior. 4.4′-Bipyridine was found to be more prone to solvate (including hydrate) formation than its 2,2′-isomer.

Controlling the physical properties of solid forms for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) through cocrystallization is an important part of drug product development. However, it is difficult to know

Four solidification methods for self-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SEDDS) were compared to evaluate the impact of solidification on storage stability of an incorporated protein. Papain was loaded in SEDDS via hydrophobic ion pairing (HIP). Liquid SEDDS (l-SEDDS) were either solidified by adsorption to solid excipients such as magnesium-aluminometasilicate via wet granulation (ssilica-SEDDS) and carbohydrates via lyophilisation (scarbo-SEDDS) or by incorporation of high-melting PEG-surfactants (sPEG-SEDDS) and triglycerides (soil-SEDDS) in SEDDS preconcentrates. L- and s-SEDDS were compared regarding intrinsic emulsion properties, solid-state form of papain, enzyme stability and activity during storage. HIP with deoxycholate showed a precipitation efficiency of 82% and papain maintained 90% of its initial activity. Incorporated papain was present in an amorphous state, confirming a molecular dispersion in all preconcentrates. In comparison to l-SEDDS each solidification method investigated improved the storage stability of incorporated papain. Neither precipitation nor phase separation was observed for s-SEDDS. sPEG-SEDDS demonstrated with 87.8% the highest enzymatic activity and displayed according to the following rank order: sPEG-SEDDS > soil-SEDDS > ssilica-SEDDS > scarbo-SEDDS > l-SEDDS the highest remaining papain activity after 30 days of storage. This work clearly demonstrates that solidified SEDDS can provide a significantly improved storage stability for therapeutic proteins compared to corresponding liquid formulations.

Following the computational prediction that 3-hydroxybenzoic acid (3HBA) could exist in more than the two literature polymorphs, an experimental investigation targeting computationally generated structures was performed. The third polymorph III, solved from powder X-ray diffraction data, and the literature form II share a common hydrogen-bonded ladder motif in contrast to the carboxylic acid dimer based form I. The two metastable polymorphs (II and III) are storage stable if phase pure and monotropically related to form I. Calorimetric measurements and (lattice) energy minimisations revealed that the three polymorphs are close in energy.

Experimental and theoretical characterisation and studies of the stability of heterobicyclic thiazinium salts (bicyclic 2-mercaptoimidazolium chlorides and bromides) were performed to rationalise and understand the influence of the counterion (Cl−↔ Br−) and the replacement of CH by N on crystal packing, the influence of the anion on the moisture and temperature dependent stability, and the racemisation behaviour of the imidazo-thiazinium chloride. Six compounds were synthesised and for five of the compounds the structures were solved from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. The structural features of the sixth compound could be derived from powder X-ray diffraction data comparisons. An exchange of the Cl−anion by Br−does not influence the crystal packing of the racemic thiazinium salt but increases its moisture dependent stability. In contrast, replacing the imidazole moiety of the cation by a triazole or tetrazole moiety results in distinct packing arrangements of the investigated bromide salts, although,substitution calculations suggest that isostructural packing arrangements might exist. The binary melting point phase diagram was constructed to confirm the nature of the racemic species of the thiazinium chloride, and differential scanning calorimetry and lattice energy minimisations were used to estimate the enthalpy difference between the racemic and enantiopure crystals, rationalising the high tendency of racemisation of the enantiopure compound.

The solid form landscape of brucine sulphate (BS) was elucidated, resulting in three hydrate forms (HyA–C) and amorphous BS. Interconversion of the hydrates of BS with small changes in the relative humidity complicated identifying and characterising the solid forms. The hydrate obtained from crystallisation experiments (from water), HyA, is the only solid form described in the literature. The other two hydrates were produced by dehydration starting from the known hydrate. HyA contains 6.5 to 7.4 molecules of water per BS and is only stable in the relative humidity (RH) range ≥26% at room temperature (RT). HyB is only observable in a very narrow RH window (22–25%) at RT and shows a hexahydrate stoichiometry. At RH values ≤20%, the third hydrate, HyC, forms. Similar to HyA, the latter hydrate shows a variable water content of five or less water molecules per BS. Removal of the essential water molecules stabilising the hydrate structures causes the collapse to the amorphous state, a process which was not completed within 3.5 years of storing HyC under driest conditions (approx. 0%) at room temperature. Only the combination of intermolecular interaction and electronic structure calculations with thermal analytical techniques, X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy and gravimetric moisture (de)sorption studies and careful control of the external conditions allowed the discovery and rationalisation of the three hydrates of BS. The investigations on BS were complemented with an exploitation of the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) to unravel the incidence of hydrates of sulphate salts. The analysis indicates that 56.5% of the sulphate salts (C, H, N, O, and S atoms only) are hydrate structures, with higher hydrates being more commonly present amongst sulphate salts than amongst all organic hydrates.

Control over polymorphism and solvatomorphism in API assisted by structural information, e.g., molecular conformation or associations via hydrogen bonds, is crucial for the industrial development of new drugs, as the crystallization products differ in solubility, dissolution profile, compressibility, or melting temperature. The stability of the final formulation and technological factors of the pharmaceutical powders further emphasize the importance of precise crystallization protocols. This is particularly important when working with highly flexible molecules with considerable conformational freedom and a large number of hydrogen bond donors or acceptors (e.g., fluconazole, FLU). Here, cooling and suspension crystallization were applied to access polymorphs and solvates of FLU, a widely used azole antifungal agent with high molecular flexibility and several reported polymorphs. Each of four polymorphic forms, FLU I, II, III, or IV, can be obtained from the same set of alcohols (MeOH, EtOH, isPrOH) and DMF via careful control of the crystallization conditions. For the first time, two types of isostructural channel solvates of FLU were obtained (nine new structures). Type I solvates were prepared by cooling crystallization in Tol, ACN, DMSO, BuOH, and BuON. Type II solvates formed in DCM, ACN, nPrOH, and BuOH during suspension experiments. We propose desolvation pathways for both types of solvates based on the structural analysis of the newly obtained solvates and their desolvation products. Type I solvates desolvate to FLU form I by hydrogen-bonded chain rearrangements. Type II solvates desolvation leads first to an isomorphic desolvate, followed by a phase transition to FLU form II through hydrogen-bonded dimer rearrangement. Combining solvent-mediated phase transformations with structural analysis and solid-state NMR, supported by periodic electronic structure calculations, allowed us to elucidate the interrelations and transformation pathways of FLU.

In the present study, chitosan (CS) was thiolated by introducing l-cysteine via amide bond formation. Free thiol groups were protected with highly reactive 6-mercaptonicotinic acid (6-MNA) and less-reactive l-cysteine, respectively, via thiol/disulfide-exchange reactions. Unmodified CS, l-cysteine-modified thiolated CS (CS-Cys), 6-MNA-S-protected thiolated CS (CS-Cys-MNA), and l-cysteine-S-protected thiolated CS (CS-Cys-Cys) were applied as coating materials to solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN). The strength of mucus interaction followed the rank order plain < CS < CS-Cys-Cys < CS-Cys < CS-Cys-MNA, whereas mucus diffusion followed the rank order CS-Cys < CS-Cys-Cys < CS < CS-Cys-MNA < plain. In accordance with lower reactivity, CS-Cys-Cys-coated SLN were immobilized to a lower extent than CS-Cys-coated SLN, while CS-Cys-MNA-coated SLN dissociated from their coating material resulting in a similar diffusion behavior as plain SLN. Consequently, CS-Cys-Cys-coated SLN and CS-Cys-MNA-coated SLN showed the highest retention on porcine intestinal mucosa by enabling a synergism of efficient mucus diffusion and strong mucoadhesion.

A method for structure solution in thin films that combines grazing incidence X-ray diffraction data analysis and crystal structure prediction was presented in a recent work (Braun et al. Cryst. Growth Des.2019, DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.9b00857). Applied to phenytoin form II, which is only detected in films, the approach gave a very reasonable, but not fully confirmed, candidate structure with Z = 4 and Z′ = 2. In the present work, we demonstrate how, by calculating and measuring the crystal Raman spectrum in the low wavenumber energy region with the aim of validating the candidate structure, this can be further refined. In fact, we find it to correspond to a saddle point of the energy landscape of the system, from which a minimum of lower symmetry may be reached. With the new structure, with Z = 4 and Z′ = 2, we finally obtain an excellent agreement between experimental and calculated Raman spectra., Experimental low wavenumber Raman spectroscopy validates the presence of a non-centrosymmetric packing arrangement that is energetically very close to a centrosymmetric saddle point structure.

Five anhydrate polymorphs (forms I–V) and the isomorphic dehydrate (Hy_{dehy}) of dapsone (4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone or DDS) were prepared and characterized in an interdisciplinary experimental and computational study, elucidating the kinetic and thermodynamic stabilities, solid form interrelationships, and structural features of the known forms I–IV, the novel polymorph form V, and Hy_{dehy}. Calorimetric measurements, solubility experiments, and lattice energy calculations revealed that form V is the thermodynamically stable polymorph from absolute zero to at least 90 °C. At higher temperatures, form II, and then form I, becomes the most stable DDS solid form. The computed 0 K stability order (lattice energy calculations) was confirmed with calorimetric measurements as follows, V (most stable) > III > Hy_{dehy} > II > I > IV (least stable). The discovery of form V was complicated by the fact that the metastable but kinetically stabilized form III shows a higher nucleation and growth rate. By combining laboratory powder X-ray diffraction data and ab initio calculations, the crystal structure of form V (P2_{1} /c, Z′ = 4) was solved, with a high energy DDS conformation allowing a denser packing and more stable intermolecular interactions, rationalizing the formation of a high Z′ structure. The structures of the forms I and IV, only observed from the melt and showing distinct packing features compared to the forms II, III, and V, were derived from the computed crystal energy landscapes. Dehydration modeling of the DDS hydrate led to the Hydehy structure. This study expands our understanding about the complex crystallization behavior of pharmaceuticals and highlights the big challenge in solid form screening, especially that there is no clear end point.

Elucidating the structure relationships and transformation pathways of the solid forms of gandotinib was an enormous challenge. Only seven of the eleven experimentally observed forms crystallized directly from solution: a neat form (I), a tetrahydrate (Hy4), a 3.0–3.7-hydrate (HyY), and four solvates (methanol, n-propanol, n-butanol, and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone). The four remaining forms (II, Hy2.2, Hy1.3, and HyX) were produced by dehydration and/or rehydration processes. Interconversion of the anhydrates and hydrates of gandotinib with small changes in the relative humidity complicated identifying and characterizing the crystalline forms to such an extent that some experiments conducted in the humidity of summer could not be reproduced in the winter, and vice versa. Thus, with solid-state transformations being the only route to four of the solid forms, elucidating the crystal structural relationships underpinning the dehydration–rehydration pathways as a function of temperature and humidity required not ...

Dapsone (DDS) shows a rich solid form landscape, comprising five anhydrates, one hydrate and 15 solvates. The four isostructural DDS hemisolvates, with dichloromethane, acetonitrile, nitromethane and dimethyl sulfoxide as guest molecules, obtained by cooling crystallisation, slurry or solvent vapour diffusion experiments were investigated in this study. Experimental (thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction) and computational studies (lattice, intermolecular and stability energy calculations) were undertaken to rationalise and understand (hemi)solvate formation, stability and phase transitions occurring during the desolvation of the solvates. It was found that DDS⋯solvent interactions and the shape/size of the solvent molecules are critical for solvate formation. Careful control of the experimental crystallisation and storage conditions were required for identifying and characterising solvates that are unstable at ambient conditions. The solvent molecules of the hemisolvates are located at isolated-sites and form strong hydrogen bonds and/or interactions involving dispersion forces. The isostructurality of the four hemisolvates was confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction determinations and modelling, i.e. solvent exchange calculations. Furthermore, the formation of either the hemi- or monosolvate stoichiometry was rationalised on the basis of lattice energy calculations.

The monosolvate crystal energy landscapes of dapsone (DDS) including the solvents carbon tetrachloride, acetone, cyclohexanone, dimethyl formamide, tetrahydrofuran, methyl ethyl ketone, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,4-dioxane, dichloromethane and chloroform were established using experimental and computational approaches. To rationalise and understand solvate formation, solvate stability and desolvation reactions a careful control of the experimental crystallisation and storage conditions, a range of thermoanalytical methods and crystal structure prediction were required. Six of the eight DDS monosolvates are reported and characterised for the first time. Structural similarity and diversity of the at ambient conditions unstable monosolvates were apparent from the computed crystal energy landscapes, which had the experimental packings as lowest energy structures. The computed structures were used as input for Rietveld refinements and isostructurality of four of the monosolvates was confirmed. Packing comparisons of the solvate structures and molecular properties of the solvent molecules indicated that both size/shape of the solvent molecule and the possible DDS⋯solvent interactions are the important factors for DDS solvate formation. Through the combination of experiment and theory solvate stability and structural features have been rationalised.

3-(3-Methylimidazolium-1-yl)propanoate (OOCEMIM), the related zwitterion of the parent ionic liquid [HOOCEMIM] [Cl], crystallises in two hydrated and one neat (AH) solid-state forms. All three forms can be produced directly in solution crystallisation experiments and their single crystal structures as well as the temperature- and moisture dependent interconversion pathways between the forms were unravelled. The OOCEMIM molecule adopts an elongated high energy conformation in both the mono- (Hy1) and dihydrates (Hy2), with water⋯OOCEMIM interactions contributing significantly to the lattice energy. A substantial conformational rearrangement of OOCEMIM is observed upon dehydration, resulting in a bent low energy conformation in the anhydrous form. Each of the three OOCEMIM solid-state forms shows a limited existence range. The anhydrous form AH can only be preserved at very dry atmospheric conditions (at 25 °C). The exposure of AH to elevated water vapour conditions results in a fast transformation to Hy1, which then transforms to Hy2 at relative humidities (RH) above 18%. Increasing the RH above 40% leads to deliquescence of the zwitterion. Hy1 and Hy2 melt at 90 °C and 61 °C (peritectic dissociation temperature), respectively, whereas AH melts and decomposes at 172 °C. The measured transformation enthalpies between the three solid-state forms, derived from differential scanning and isothermal calorimetry experiments, are in excellent agreement with the 0 K PBE-TS and PBE-D2 lattice energy differences. Knowledge about the interconversion pathways and stability ranges of the OOCEMIM solid-state forms is essential for handling the compound.

The reversible solid-state phase transformation between the neat forms II and III of dapsone (DDS) was studied using thermal analytical methods, variable temperature X-ray diffraction and solid-state modeling at the electronic level. The first order III ↔ II phase transformation occurs at 78 ± 4 °C with a heat of transition of 2 kJ mol–1 and a small hysteresis. The two isosymmetric polymorphs (both P212121) differ only in movement of layers of molecules and show a small variation in conformation. The combination of variable-temperature single-crystal structure determinations and pair-wise intermolecular energy calculations allowed us to unravel the single-to-single crystal transformation at a molecular level, to estimate the molecular contributions to the heat of transformation and to rationalize why the room and low temperature form III is the less dense polymorphic form, which is a rare phenomenon in enantiotropically related pairs of polymorphs in molecular crystals.

Expedient alkylations of 1-methyl-3H-imidazole-2-thione, a pharmaceutical active ingredient available in bulk quantities, provide high yield access to numerous protonated, or quaternized imidazoliums with chemospecific attachment of the fluoroponytail at the 2-mercapto functionality. The deprotonated primary target products represent valuable nitrogen heterocyclic bases, capable of further substitution, and salt or complex formation. Specific physicochemical characteristics that are relevant for phase and surface responsive behavior, e.g. critical micelle concentration, oleophobicity, depression of the aqueous surface tension, foam formation, emulsification of microgranular PTFE, are investigated for selected representatives and compared to the properties of common fluorosurfactants and ionic liquids. Remarkably, it is found that halogen bonding between iodide counterions of respective polyfluoroalkylmethimazolium systems and 1-iodoperfluoroalkanes, serving as the σ-hole partner of the halides, greatly affect the solubility profile of the resulting molecular adducts. Single-crystal X-ray structure determinations are carried out across the new fluorous substance classes. Strikingly, the helical arrangement of fluorine atoms along the chains typically encountered in polyfluorinated compounds is not found as the prevailing conformation. Rather, they are outnumbered by structural motifs exhibiting the rare zig-zag (linear alkane-like) chain conformation. Key derivatives are also subjected to preliminary ecotoxicological testing.

The solid forms emerging from an experimental screening programme of 1,10-phenanthroline (o-phen), a heavily used bidentate ligand, and interconversion pathways of its two neat forms, the monohdyrate (Hy1) and four solvates with acetone, chloroform, dichloromethane and 1,2-dichloroethane are described. The solvates, identified and characterised with thermoanalyical methods, are unstable when removed from the mother liquor and desolvate at room temperature depending on the relative humidity (RH) to anhydrate I° (AH I°) or transform to Hy1. At ambient conditions Hy1, a stoichiometric channel hydrate, is the thermodynaically most stable o-phen solid form. The enthalpically stabilised Hy1 melts at 102 °C or dehydrates to AH I° at RH < 10% at 25 °C. The potential energy difference between Hy1 and AH I° was calculated to be approx. 15 kJ mol–1. The second anhydrate polymorph (AH II) can be obatined from the quench cooled melt of o-phen, but is unstable at ambient conditions and transforms wihtin minutes to either AH I° or Hy1. The two neat polymorphs are enantiotropically related and water-free o-phen transforms to Hy1 at RH > 16%. The structural and stablity features of the solid forms, in paricular Hy1, are unravelled by a combination of experimental (thermal analysis, moisture sorption/desorption and storage experiments, infrared spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction) and computational modelling (crystal structure prediction and lattice energy calculations), providing a consistent picture why o-phen forms a very stable Z’ = 3 channel hydrate.

A computational search for polymorphs of cytosine, 5-flucytosine and a 1 : 1 mixture of the two substances not only rationalised the preferred packing arrangements but also enabled the finding and characterisation of cytosine/5-flucytosine solid solutions. The structures of the new solid forms were determined by combining laboratory powder X-ray diffraction data and computational modelling.

Starting from a synthetic sample with composition Al2(SO4)3·16.6H2O, the high-temperature- and moisture-dependent behavior of alunogen has been unraveled by TGA measurements, in situ powder X-ray diffraction as well as by gravimetric moisture sorption/desorption studies. Heating experiments using the different techniques show that alunogen undergoes a first dehydration process already starting at temperatures slightly above 40 °C. The crystalline product of the temperature-induced dehydration corresponds to the synthetic equivalent of meta-alunogen and has the following chemical composition: Al2(SO4)3·13.8H2O or Al2(SO4)3(H2O)12·1.8H2O. At 90 °C a further reaction can be monitored resulting in the formation of an X-ray amorphous material. The sequence of “amorphous humps” in the patterns persists up to 250 °C, where a re-crystallization process is indicated by a sudden appearance of a larger number of sharp Bragg peaks. Phase analysis confirmed this compound to be anhydrous Al2(SO4)3. Furthermore, meta-alunogen can be also obtained from alunogen at room temperature when stored at relative humidities (RH) lower than 20 %. The transformation is reversible, however, water sorption of meta-alunogen to alunogen and the corresponding desorption reaction show considerable hysteresis. For RH values above 80 %, deliquescence of the material was observed. Structural investigations on meta-alunogen were performed using a sample that has been stored at dry conditions (0 % RH) over phosphorus pentoxide. Powder diffraction data were acquired on an in-house high-resolution diffractometer in transmission mode using a sealed glass capillary as sample holder. Indexing resulted in a triclinic unit cell with the following lattice parameters: a = 14.353(6) Å, b = 12.490(6) Å, c = 6.092(3) Å, α = 92.656(1)°, β = 96.654(1)°, γ = 100.831(1)°, V = 1062.8(8) Å3 and Z = 2. These data correct earlier findings suggesting an orthorhombic cell. Ab-initio structure solution in space group P \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\overline{1}$$\end{document}1¯, using simulated annealing, provided a chemically meaningful structure model. The asymmetric unit of meta-alunogen contains three symmetry independent SO4-tetrahedra and two Al(H2O)6 octahedra. The polyhedra are isolated, however, linkage between them is provided by Coulomb interactions and hydrogen bonding. In addition to the water molecules which directly belong to the coordination environment of the aluminum cations there are two additional zeolitic water sites (Ow1 and Ow2). If both positions are fully occupied meta-alunogen corresponds to a 14-hydrate. Structural similarities and differences between the previously unknown structure of meta-alunogen and alunogen are discussed in detail. Since hydrous aluminum sulfates have been postulated to occur in Martian soils, our results may help identifying meta-alunogen by X-ray diffraction not only on the surface of the Earth but also using the Curiosity Rover’s ChemMin instrument. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00269-016-0840-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

New polymorphs of thymine emerged in an experimental search for solid forms, which was guided by the computationally generated crystal energy landscape. Three of the four anhydrates (AH) are homeoenergetic (A° – C) and their packing modes differ only in the location of oxygen and hydrogen atoms. AHs A° and B are ordered phases, whereas AH C shows disorder (X-ray diffuse scattering). Anhydrates AHs A° and B are ordered phases, whereas AH C shows disorder (X-ray diffuse scattering). Analysis of the crystal energy landscape for alternative AH C hydrogen bonded ribbon motifs identified a number of different packing modes, whose 3D structures were calculated to deviate by less than 0.24 kJ mol–1 in lattice energy. These structures provide models for stacking faults. The three anhydrates A° – C show strong similarity in their powder X-ray diffraction, thermoanalytical and spectroscopic (IR and Raman) characteristics. The already known anhydrate AH A° was identified as the thermodynamically most stable form at ambient conditions; AH B and AH C are metastable but show high kinetic stability. The hydrate of thymine is stable only at water activities (aw) > 0.95 at temperatures ≤ 25 °C. It was found to be a stoichiometric hydrate despite being a channel hydrate with an unusual water:thymine ratio of 0.8:1. Depending on the dehydration conditions, either AH C or AH D is obtained. The hydrate is the only known precursor to AH D. This study highlights the value and complementarity of simultaneous explorations of computationally and experimentally generated solid form landscapes of a small molecule anhydrate ↔ hydrate system.

Crystal structure prediction studies indicated the existence of an unknown high density monohydrate structure (Hy1B°) as the global energy minimum for 4-aminoquinaldine (4-AQ). We thus performed an interdisciplinary experimental and computational study elucidating the crystal structures, solid form inter-relationships, and kinetic and thermodynamic stabilities of the stable anhydrate (AH I°), the kinetic monohydrate (Hy1A) and this novel monohydrate polymorph (Hy1B°) of 4-AQ. The crystal structure of Hy1B° was determined by combining laboratory powder X-ray diffraction data and ab initio calculations. Dehydration studies with differential scanning calorimetry and solubility measurements confirmed the result of the lattice energy calculations, which identified Hy1B° as the thermodynamically most stable hydrate form. At 25 °C the equilibrium of the 4-AQ hydrate/anhydrate system was observed at an aw (water activity) of 0.14. The finding of Hy1B° was complicated by the fact that the metastable but kinetically stable Hy1A shows a higher nucleation and growth rate. The presence of an impurity in an available 4-AQ sample facilitated the nucleation of Hy1B°, whose crystallisation is favored under hydrothermal conditions. The value of combining experimental with theoretical studies in hydrate screening and characterisation, as well as the reasons for hydrate formation in 4-AQ, are discussed.

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The observed moisture- and temperature dependent transformations of the dapsone (4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone, DDS) 0. 33-hydrate were correlated to its structure and the number and strength of the water-DDS intermolecular interactions. A combination of characterization techniques was used, including thermal analysis (hot-stage microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis), gravimetric moisture sorption/desorption studies and variable humidity powder X-ray diffraction, along with computational modeling (crystal structure prediction and pair-wise intermolecular energy calculations). Depending on the relative humidity the hydrate contains between 0 and 0.33 molecules of water per molecule DDS. The crystal structure is retained upon dehydration indicating that DDS hydrate shows a non-stoichiometric (de)hydration behavior. Unexpectedly, the water molecules are not located in structural channels but at isolated-sites of the host framework, which is counterintuitively for a hydrate with non-stoichiometric behavior. The water-DDS interactions were estimated to be weaker than water-host interactions that are commonly observed in stoichiometric hydrates and the lattice energies of the isomorphic dehydration product (hydrate structure without water molecules) and (form III) differ only by ~1 kJ mol−1. The computational generation of hypothetical monohydrates confirms that the hydrate with the unusual DDS:water ratio of 3:1 is more stable than a feasible monohydrate structure. Overall, this study highlights that a deeper understanding of the formation of hydrates with non-stoichiometric behavior requires a multidisciplinary approach including suitable experimental and computational methods providing a firm basis for the development and manufacturing of high quality drug products.

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The low-temperature (LT) dependent behavior of a synthetic alunogen sample with composition Al 2 (SO 4 ) 3 ·16.61H 2 O has been studied in the overall temperature range from −100 to 23 °C by DSC measurements, in situ powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction as well as Raman spectroscopy. Cooling/heating experiments using the different techniques prove that alunogen undergoes a reversible, sluggish phase transition somewhere between −30 and −50 °C from the triclinic room-temperature (RT) form to a previously unknown LT-polymorph. A significant hysteresis for the transition was observed with all three methods and the transition temperatures were found to depend on the employed cooling/heating rates. The crystal structure of the LT-modification has been studied at −100 °C using single crystals, which have been grown from an aqueous solution. Basic crystallographic data are as follows: monoclinic symmetry, space group type P 2 1 , a = 7.4125(3), b = 26.8337(16), c = 6.0775(3) A, β = 97.312(4)°, V = 1199.01(10) A 3 , and Z = 2. Structure analysis revealed that LT-alunogen corresponds to a non-stoichiometric hydrate with 16.61 water moieties pfu. Notably, the first-order transition results in a single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation. In the asymmetric unit there are 2 Al-atoms, 3 [SO 4 ]-tetrahedra, and 17 crystallographically independent sites for water molecules, whose hydrogen positions could be all located by difference-Fourier calculations. According to site-population refinements only one water position (Ow5) shows a partial occupancy. A comfortable way to rationalize the crystal structure of the LT-modification of alunogen is based on a subdivision of the whole structure into two different slabs parallel to (010). The first type of slab (type A) is about 9 A thick and located at y ≈ 0 and y ≈ ½, respectively. It contains the Al(H 2 O) 6 -octahedra as well as the sulfate groups centered by S1 and S2. Type B at y ≈ ¼ and y ≈ ¾ comprises the remaining tetrahedra about S3 and a total of five additional “zeolitic” water sites (Ow1–Ow5), which are not a part of a coordination polyhedron. Within slab-type A alternating chains of (unconnected) octahedra and tetrahedra can be identified, which are running parallel to [100]. In addition to electrostatic interactions between the Al(H 2 O) 6 3+ - and the (SO 4 ) 2− -units, hydrogen bonds are also essential for the stability of these slabs. A detailed comparison between both modifications including a derivation from a hypothetical aristotype based on group-theoretical concepts is presented. Since alunogen has been postulated to occur in martian soils the new findings may help in the identification of the LT-form by X-ray diffraction using the Curiosity Rover’s ChemMin instrument or by Raman spectroscopy.

The preparation of six new 5,5′-azotetrazolates with organic cations is reported. Differential scanning calorimetry of all compounds showed exothermic decompositions. The crystal structures of the six 5,5′-azotetrazolates were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. The phase purities of the bulk samples were confirmed by Pawley fits of the experimental and calculated powder X-ray diffraction patterns.

Computational methods were used to generate and explore the crystal structure landscapes of the two alkaloids strychnine and brucine. The computed structures were analyzed and rationalized by correlating the modelling results to a rich pool of available experimental data. Despite their structural similarity, the two compounds show marked differences in the formation of solid forms. For strychnine only one anhydrous form is reported in the literature and two new solvates from 1,4-dioxane were detected in the course of this work. In contrast, 22 solid forms are so far known to exist for brucine, comprising two anhydrates, four hydrates (HyA – HyC and a 5.25-hydrate), twelve solvates (alcohols and acetone) and four heterosolvates (mixed solvates with water and alcohols). For strychnine it is hard to produce any solid form other than the stable anhydrate while the formation of specific solid state forms of brucine is governed by a complex interplay between temperature and relative humidity/water activity and it is rather a challenging to avoid hydrate formation. Differences in crystal packing and the high tendency for brucine to form hydrates are not intuitive from the molecular structure alone, as both molecules have hydrogen bond acceptor groups but lack hydrogen bond donor groups. Only the evaluation of the crystal energy landscapes, in particular the close-packed crystal structures and high-energy open frameworks containing voids of molecular (water) dimensions, allowed us to unravel the diverse solid state behavior of the two alkaloids at a molecular level. In this study we demonstrate that expanding the analysis of anhydrate crystal energy landscapes to higher energy structures and calculating the solvent-accessible volume can be used to estimate non-stoichiometric or channel hydrate (solvate) formation, without explicitly computing the hydrate/solvate crystal energy landscapes.

The crystal structure of the methanol hemisolvate of 5,5-dibromobarbituric acid (1MH) displays an H-bonded layer structure which is based on N–H∙∙∙O=C, N–H∙∙∙O(MeOH) and (MeOH)O–H∙∙∙O interactions. The barbiturate molecules form an H-bonded substructure which has the fes topology. 5,5′-Methanediylbis(5-bromobarbituric acid) 2, obtained from a solution of 5,5-dibromobarbituric acid in nitromethane, displays a N–H···O=C bonded framework of the sxd type. The conformation of the pyridmidine ring and the lengths of the ring substituent bonds C5–X and C5–X′ in crystal forms of 5,5-dibromobarbituric acid and three closely related analogues (X = X′ = Br, Cl, F, Me) have been investigated. In each case, a conformation close to a C5-endo envelope is correlated with a significant lengthening of the axial C5–X′ in comparison to the equatorial C5–X bond. Isolated molecule geometry optimizations at different levels of theory confirm that the C5-endo envelope is the global conformational energy minimum of 5,5-dihalogenbarbituric acids. The relative lengthening of the axial bond is therefore interpreted as an inherent feature of the preferred envelope conformation of the pyrimidine ring, which minimizes repulsive interactions between the axial substituent and pyrimidine ring atoms.

The complex interplay of temperature and water activity (aw)/relative humidity (RH) on the solid form stability and transformation pathways of three hydrates (HyA, HyB, and HyC), an isostructural dehydrate (HyAdehy), an anhydrate (AH), and amorphous brucine has been elucidated and the transformation enthalpies quantified. The dihydrate (HyA) shows a nonstoichiometric (de)hydration behavior at RH < 40% at 25 °C, and the removal of the water molecules results in an isomorphic dehydrate structure. The metastable dehydration product converts to AH upon storage at the driest conditions or to HyA if exposed to moisture. HyB is a stoichiometric tetrahydrate. The loss of the water molecules causes HyB to collapse to an amorphous phase. Amorphous brucine transforms to AH at RH < 40% RH and a mixture of hydrated phases at higher RH values. The third hydrate (HyC) is only stable at RH ≥ 55% at 25 °C and contains 3.65–3.85 mol equiv of water. Dehydration of HyC occurs in one step at RH < 55% at 25 °C or upon heating, and AH is obtained. The AH is the thermodynamically most stable phase of brucine at RH < 40% at 25 °C. Depending on the conditions, temperature, and aw, each of the three hydrates becomes the thermodynamically most stable form. This study demonstrates the importance of applying complementary analytical techniques and appropriate approaches for understanding the stability ranges and transition behavior between the solid forms of compounds with multiple hydrates., Complementary analytical techniques were applied to unravel the complex interplay of temperature and water activity/relative humidity on the solid form stability and transformation pathways of practically relevant forms of brucine. Depending on the environmental conditions, three hydrates (stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric) or anhydrous brucine may become the thermodynamically most stable form. The transformation enthalpies between the solid forms were determined.

The structural, temperature- and moisture dependent stability features of cytosine and 5-flucytosine monohydrates, two pharmaceutically important compounds, were rationalized using complementary experimental and computational approaches. Moisture sorption/desorption, water activity, thermal analysis and calorimetry were applied to determine the stability ranges of hydrate ↔ anhydrate systems, while X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy and crystal structure prediction provided the molecular level understanding. At 25 °C, the critical water activity for the cytosine hydrate ↔ anhydrate system is ~0.43 and for 5-flucytosine ~0.41. In 5-flucytosine the water molecules are arranged in open channels, therefore the kinetic desorption data, dehydration < 40% relative humidity (RH), conform with the thermodynamic data, whereas for the cytosine isolated site hydrate dehydration was observed at RH < 15%. Peritectic dissociation temperatures of the hydrates were measured to be 97 °C and 84.2 °C for cytosine and 5-flucytosine, respectively, and the monohydrate to anhydrate transition enthalpies to be around 10 kJ mol–1. Computed crystal energy landscapes not only revealed that the substitution of C5 (H or F) controls the packing and properties of cytosine/5-flucytosine solid forms, but also have enabled the finding of a monohydrate solid solution of the two substances which shows increased thermal- and moisture-dependent stability compared to 5-flucytosine monohydrate.

Hydrate and anhydrate crystal structure prediction (CSP) of creatine (CTN), a heavily used, poorly water-soluble, zwitterionic compound, has enabled the finding and characterization of its anhydrate polymorphs, including the thermodynamic room temperature form. Crystal structures of the novel forms were determined by combining laboratory powder X-ray diffraction data and ab initio generated structures. The computational method not only revealed all experimental forms but also predicted the correct stability order, which was experimentally confirmed by measurements of the heat of hydration., A computationally driven experimental search for anhydrate and hydrate solid forms of creatine enabled the finding and characterization (structure and stability) of its three polymorphs and the monohydrate. The computational method not only found the experimental forms but also correctly predicted the stability order, which was experimentally confirmed by measurements of the heat of hydration.

Single-crystal structures of 1,1′-methylenebis(imidazolidine-2,4-dione) and its sodium and dipotassium salts were determined. Powder X-ray diffraction was also employed to characterize the bulk materials and those phases which did not yield single-crystals. These compounds are of interest for intumescent coatings.

Computational crystal structure prediction (CSP) methods can now be applied to the smaller pharmaceutical molecules currently in drug development. We review the recent uses of computed crystal energy landscapes for pharmaceuticals, concentrating on examples where they have been used in collaboration with industrial-style experimental solid form screening. There is a strong complementarity in aiding experiment to find and characterise practically important solid forms and understanding the nature of the solid form landscape.