Crystallization hydrate pseudopolymorphs

Hydrates normally form crystal structures (pseudopolymorphs) that differ from the anhydrous form. Different powder XRD patterns of ampicillin in the anhydrous and trihydrate forms are shown in Fig. 16. Although moisture contents often present values that are close to being stoichiometric, X-ray confirmation of the differing crystal structure should be a requisite for designation as a hydrate. 

The phenomenon of pseudopolymorphism is also observed, i.e., compounds can crystallize with one or more molecules of solvent in the crystal lattice. Conversion from solvated to nonsolvated, or hydrate to anhydrous, and vice versa, can lead to changes in solid-state properties. For example, a moisture-mediated phase transformation of carbamazepine to the dihydrate has been reported to be responsible for whisker growth on the surface of tablets. The effect can be retarded by the inclusion of Polyoxamer 184 in the tablet formulation [61]. 

The utilization of IR spectroscopy is very important in the characterization of pseudopolymorphic systems, especially hydrates. It has been used to study the pseudopolymorphic systems SQ-33600 [36], mefloquine hydrochloride [37], ranitidine HC1 [38], carbovir [39], and paroxetine hydrochloride [40]. In the case of SQ-33600 [36], humidity-dependent changes in the crystal properties of the disodium salt of this new HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor were characterized by a combination of physical analytical techniques. Three crystalline solid hydrates were identified, each having a definite stability over a range of humidity. Diffuse reflectance IR spectra were acquired on SQ-33600 material exposed to different relative humidity (RH) conditions. A sharp absorption band at 3640 cm-1 was indicative of the OH stretching mode associated with either strongly bound or crystalline water (Fig. 5A). The sharpness of the band is evidence of a bound species even at the lowest levels of moisture content. The bound nature of this water contained in low-moisture samples was confirmed by variable-temperature (VT) diffuse reflectance studies. As shown in Fig. 5B, the 3640 cm-1 peak progressively decreased in intensity upon thermal... 

The importance of polymorphism in pharmaceuticals cannot be overemphasized. Some crystal structures contain molecules of water or solvents, known as hydrates or solvates, respectively, and they are also called as pseudopolymorphs. Identifying all relevant polymorphs and solvates at an early stage of development for new chemical entities has become a well-accepted concept in pharmaceutical industry. For poorly soluble compounds, understanding their polymorphic behavior is even more important since solubility, crystal shape, dissolution rate, and bioavailability may vary with the polymorphic form. Conversion of a drug substance to a more thermodynamically stable form in the formulation can signiLcantly increase the development cost or even result in product failure. 

Solid Form Selection A drug can exist in multiple forms in the solid state. If the two forms have the same molecular structure but different crystal packing, then they are polymorphs. Pseudopolymorphs (or solvatomorphs) differ in the level of hydration/solvation between forms. Polymorphs and pseudopolymorphs in principle will have a different solubility, melting point, dissolution rate, etc. While less thermodynamically stable, polymorphs have higher solubilities they also have the potential to convert to the more thermodynamically stable form. This form conversion can lead to reduced solubility for the formulated product. One example is ritonavir, a protease inhibitor compound used to treat acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Marketed by Abbott Labs as Norvir, this compound began production in a semisolid form and an oral liquid form. In July 1998, dissolution tests of several new batches of the product failed. The problem was traced to the appearance of a previously unknown polymorph (Form II) of the compound. This form is thermodynamically more stable than Form I and therefore is less soluble. In this case, the solubility is at least a factor of 2 below that of Form I.12 The discovery of this new polymorph ultimately led to a temporary withdrawal of the solid form of Norvir from the market and a search for a new formulation. 

Polymorphism, as applied to the sohd state, can be defined as the ability of the same chemical substance to exist in different crystalline structures (Findlay et al. 1951) (regular, repeating arrangement of atoms or molecules in the solid state). The different structures are generally referred to as polymorphs, polymorphic modifications, crystal forms, or forms (Verma and Krishna 1966). Strict adherence to this definition of polymorphism excludes solvates and hydrates (specific water solvate) as polymorphs because they correspond to different chemical substances. Solvates and hydrates are sometimes referred to as pseudopolymorphs. Molecule A is a different chemical substance than molecule A coordinated with a solvent. 

Polymorphs are crystalline solids that have the same chemical composition, yet adopt different molecular arrangements in the crystal lattice (Grant, 1999 Byrn et al., 1999 Vippagunta et al., 2001 Bernstein, 2002). Crystalline solids may also incorporate solvent into the lattice during crystallization to form a solvate, or a hydrate in the case of water, an occurrence that is commonly referred to as pseudopolymorphism (Bym et al., 1999 Nangia and Desiraju, 1999). Adequate control over the crystallization of solid forms is of utmost importance, as each form can exhibit different pharmaceutically relevant properties including solubility, dissolution rate, bioavailability, physical and chemical stability, and mechanical properties (Grant, 1999 Bernstein, 2002). 

Hydrates. Generally, hydrates are considered appropriate pseudopolymorphs for development. Many drugs are marketed as hydrates, presumably because they are either the most stable form at "typical" relative humidities or because they offer other drug delivery advantages. Hydrates often, though not always, are less soluble in water than the corresponding anhydrous form. If the hydrate is less soluble, it often crystallizes when the anhydrous form is suspended in water and allowed to equilibrate. 

When a material can crystallize into a different polymorph, the chemical nature of the species remains identical, however, the physical properties of the material can be different. For example, properties such as density, heat capacity, melting point, thermal conductivity, and optical activity can vary from one polymorph to another. Table 2.3 lists common materials that exhibit polymorphism. Looking at Table 2.3 we can see that density varies significantly for the same materials when the crystal structure has changed. In addition, the change in the crystal structure often means a change in the external shape of the crystal, which is often an important parameter in industrial crystallization that has to be controlled. Many substances crystallize into structure in which the solvent is present as part of the crystal lattice. These crystals are known as solvates (or hydrates when the solvent is water). A substance can have multiple solvates with different crystal structures as well as a solvent free crystal form with a unique crystal structure. The solvates are often referred to as pseudopolymorphs. They are not true polymorphs because of the addition of the solvent molecule(s) to the crystal lattice. Conformational polymorphism refers to the situation where the molecular conformation of the molecules of a given substance are different in each polymorph. 

This report describes some recent developments in the understanding of the thermodynamic, kinetic and structural aspects of organic crystal polymorphism with an emphasis on the application of newer methodology used for its study, since this is one of the areas in which significant progress has been made in recent years. Numerous examples of polymorphic systems are described to illustrate the applications of both older and newer techniques for their investigation. These include studies of pseudopolymorphism manifested by hydrates and solvates of the parent organic molecule. Finally, the crucial question of... 

This type of behaviour is not confined to polymorphs but may extend to pseudopolymorphic forms such as hydrates and solvates. A recent case of solvent-mediated phase transformation involved polymorphic and pseudopolymorphic forms of thiazole carboxylic acid [55], where the transformation is again sensitive to the composition of the mixed solvent. Three forms of the compound are known, an anhydrous form, a 0.5 hydrate, and a 1.5 hydrate. In 50-80% solutions (% = vol.% MeOH-H20), transformation of the 1.5 hydrate to the 0.5 hydrate was observed while transformation to the anhydrous form occurred in 85-100% solutions. No transformation occurred in 0-30% solutions. Detailed study of a solvent-mediated polymorphic transition has also been carried out for the antiulcerative agent cimetidine [56] for which seven polymorphic forms are known. An important feature of this study was the systematic use of seed crystals to induce crystallization at different supersaturation ratios. 

The final structure to be described is a hydrate, namely (59) [77], which is a pseudopolymorph [78] of (45) [66] and (46) [67]. The water molecule plays a pivotal role in the crystal packing by forming O-H... O and 0-H... N hydrogen bonds with water-hydrogen as the donor, and accepts an N-H... 0 hydrogen bond. In this way, the water molecule links three different thioamide molecules with the result that a 2-D array is... 

Most of the drugs on the market are obtained as a defined crystalline structure and formulated as solid dosage forms. It is well known that a molecule can crystallize to give different crystalline structures displaying what is called polymorphism. The crystal structures may be anhydrous or may contain a stoichiometric number of solvent molecules leading to the formation of solvates (hydrates in case of water molecules). Pseudopolymorphism is the term used to describe this phenomenon. 

The most common crystalline forms are polymorphs, hydrates, and solvates (pseudopolymorphs). Polymorphs are formed when a substance crystallizes in two or more crystal structures. Polymorphism significantly impacts on physicochemical properties of materials, such as stability, density, melting point, solubility, bioavailability, and so on. Hence the characterization of all possible polymorphs, identifying the stable (thermodynamic) polymorph, and design of reliable processes for consistent production are critical in modem day drug development. 

Pseudopolymorph A solid material which is formed by the incorporation of solvent in the crystal lattice. Also called solvates, or hydrates if the solvent is water. Can be stoichiometric or nonstochiometric. 

In a related study, solid-state " Br NMR and GIPAW calculations were used to study structure, symmetry, and hydration state in a broader series of alkaline earth metal bromides (see Table 22) [46]. Using NMR data acquired at magnetic fields of up to 21.1 T, marked differences in the Br parameters Siso and Cq) were observed between the hydrates and the anhydrous materials. These differences suggest that " Br SSNMR is a sensitive tool to distinguish between polymorphs and pseudopolymorphs [46]. It was also found that a point charge computational model could not reproduce the experimental data quantitatively, despite the apparent ionic nature of the crystals, and thus first-principles calculations are recommended. 

In recent times the concept of crystal polymorphism has expanded beyond its original boundaries to encompass crystal forms of the same molecule with different molecular partners. These may be solvent molecules in solvates [20], or counterions if the molecule can be made non-neutral (by say proton or electron transfer [21]), or other molecules in co-crystals [22]. It is worth noting that the formation of solvate and hydrated forms is commonly observed during polymorph screening, therefore the use of the term pseudopolymorphism to describe solvate forms of a given molecular crystal ought to be discouraged, at least because solvates may, in turn, be polymorphic [23-25]. 

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