Confined liquid crystallization governed by electric field for API crystal polymorphism screening and massive preparation

Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) crystal preparation is a significant issue for the pharmaceutical development attributed to the effect on anti-inflammatory, anti-bacteria, and anti-viral, etc. While, the massive preparation of API crystal with high polymorphism selectivity is still a pendent challenge. Here, we firstly proposed a criterion according to the molecular aggregation, molecular orientation, and hydrogen bond energy between INA molecules from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which predicted the hydrogen bond architecture in crystal under different electric fields, hinting the recognition of crystal polymorphism. Then, an electric field governing confined liquid crystallization was constructed to achieve the INA crystal polymorphism screening relying on the criterion. Further, magnifying confined liquid volume by 5000 times from 1.0 μL to 5.0 mL realized the massive preparation of INA crystal with high polymorphic purity (>98.4%), giving a unique pathway for crystal engineering and pharmaceutical industry on the development of innovative and generic API based drugs.

Revisiting Dynamic Processes and Relaxation Mechanisms in a Heterocyclic Glass-Former: Direct Observation of a Transient State

Despite decades of studies, a clear understanding of near-Tg phenomena remains challenging for glass-forming systems. This review delves into the intricate molecular dynamics of the small, heterocyclic thioether, 6-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodithiine (MeBzS2), with a particular focus on its near-Tg cold crystallization and relaxation mechanisms. Investigating isothermal crystallization kinetics at various temperatures reveals a significant interplay between its molecular dynamics and recrystallization from a supercooled liquid. We also identify two independent interconversion paths between energetically privileged conformers, characterized by strained transition states. We demonstrate that these spatial transformations induce substantial alterations in the dipole moment orientation and magnitude. Our investigation also extends to the complex salt PdCl2(MeBzS2), where we observe the transient conformers directly, revealing a direct relationship between their abundance and the local or macroscopic electric field. The initially energetically privileged isomers in an undisturbed system become less favored in the presence of an external electric field or ions, resulting even in an unexpected inversion of states. Consequently, we confirm the intramolecular character of secondary relaxation in MeBzS2 and its mechanism related to conformational changes within the heterocyclic ring. The research is based on the combination of broadband dielectric spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and quantum density functional theory calculations.

Fast vs slow physical aging of a glass forming liquid

Using electric fields to initiate the process of physical aging has facilitated measurements of structural recovery dynamics on the time scale of milliseconds. This, however, complicates the interesting comparison with aging processes due to a temperature jump, as these are significantly slower. This study takes a step toward comparing the results of field and temperature perturbations by providing data on field-induced structural recovery of vinyl ethylene carbonate at two different time scales: 1.0 ms at 181 K and 33 s at 169 K, i.e., 4.5 decades apart. It is found that structural recovery is a factor of two slower than structural relaxation in equilibrium, with the latter determined via dielectric relaxation in the limit of linear response. The relation between recovery and relaxation dynamics remains temperature invariant across the present experimental range.

Free-radical polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) supported by the high electric field

In macromolecular science, tunning basic polymer parameters, like molecular weight (Mn) or molecular weight distribution (dispersity, Đ), is an active research topic. Many prominent synthetic protocols concerning chemical modification of...

AC versus DC field effects on the crystallization behavior of a molecular liquid, vinyl ethylene carbonate (VEC)

Using electric fields to control crystallization processes shows a strong potential for improving pharmaceuticals, but these field effects are not yet fully explored nor understood. This study investigates how the application of alternating high electric fields can influence the crystallization kinetics as well as the final crystal product, with a focus on the possible difference between alternating (ac) and static (dc) type fields applied to vinyl ethylene carbonate (VEC), a molecular system with field-induced polymorphism. Relative to ac fields, static electric fields lead to more severe accumulation of impurity ions near the electrodes, possibly affecting the crystallization behavior. By tuning the amplitude and frequency of the electric field, the crystallization rate can be modified, and the crystallization outcome can be guided to form one or the other polymorph with high purity, analogous to the findings derived from dc field experiments. Additionally, it is found that low-frequency ac fields reduce the induction time, promote nucleation near Tg, and affect crystallization rates as in the dc case. Consistency is also observed for the Avrami parameters n derived from ac and dc field experiments. Therefore, it appears safe to conclude that ac fields can replicate the effects seen using dc fields, which is advantageous for samples with mobile charges and the resulting conductivity.

Frequency of the AC Electric Field Determines How a Molecular Liquid Crystallizes

The ability to control crystallization is of central importance to many technologies and pharmaceutical materials. Electric fields have been shown to impact crystallization, but little is known about the mechanism of such effects. Here we report on our observations of how the frequency of an external electric (ac) field changes the crystallization rate and the partitioning into distinct polymorphs of vinylethylene carbonate. We find that the field effects are pronounced only for frequencies below a certain threshold, which is orders of magnitude below that characterizing molecular orientation but consistent with the reorientation of polar crystal nuclei of radius r < 3 nm. We conclude that the electric field opens an additional nucleation pathway by lowering the free-energy barrier to form a polymorph that melts at a temperature ∼20 K below that of the ordinary crystal. This lower melting polymorph is not obtained at zero electrical field.

Glass Transition Dynamics and Physical Stability of Amorphous Griseofulvin in Binary Mixtures with Low-Tg Excipients

Amorphization of drug formulations containing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients has been proven to be an effective strategy to improve their poor aqueous solubility. The excipients can also impact the physical stability of the prepared amorphous forms. Generally, researchers are more apt to select excipients that have high values of glass transition temperature (T_g) because of the antiplasticization effect of the additives on APIs. In this article, we studied the glass transition dynamics as well as crystallization behavior in binary blends composed of griseofulvin (GSF) and two low-T_g additives, octaacetylmaltose (acMAL) and polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), with a particular focus on the plasticization effect. Effectively suppressed crystallization of GSF is observed in both systems when higher excipient contents are used. Our finding aims to encourage the use of specifically developed protocols in which suitable plasticizers are used as excipients for stabilizing the amorphous state of a drug.

Exploring New Crystal Structures of Glycine via Electric Field-Induced Structural Transformations with Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Being able to control polymorphism of a crystal is of great importance to many industries, including the pharmaceutical industry, since the crystal’s structure determines significant physical properties of a material. While there are many conventional methods used to control the final crystal structure that comes out of a crystallization unit, these methods fail to go beyond a few known structures that are kinetically accessible. Recent studies have shown that externally applied fields have the potential to effectively control polymorphism and to extend the set of observable polymorphs that are not accessible through conventional methods. This computational study focuses on the application of high-intensity dc electric fields (e-fields) to induce solid-state transformation of glycine crystals to obtain new polymorphs that have not been observed via experiments. Through molecular dynamics simulations of solid-state α -, β -, and γ -glycine crystals, it has been shown that the new polymorphs sustain their structures within 125 ns after the electric field has been turned off. It was also demonstrated that strength and direction of the electric field and the initial structure of the crystal are parameters that affect the resulting polymorph. Our results showed that application of high-intensity dc electric fields on solid-state crystals can be an effective crystal structure control method for the exploration of new crystal structures of known materials and to extend the range of physical properties a material can have.

Application of electric fields for controlling crystallization

This highlight gives a helicopter view on the application of electric fields and discusses its potential future applications.

Rate exchange rather than relaxation controls structural recovery

Observing frequency invariant aging dynamics suggests that the homogeneous process of rate exchange rather than heterogeneous relaxation governs structural recovery.