Study of dynamics and crystallization kinetics of 5-methyl-2-[(2-nitrophenyl)amino]-3-thiophenecarbonitrile at ambient and elevated pressure

Polymorphic selectivity in crystal nucleation

Crystal nucleation rates have been measured in the supercooled melts of two richly polymorphic glass-forming liquids: ROY and nifedipine (NIF). ROY or 5-methyl-2-[(2-nitrophenyl)amino]-3-thiophenecarbonitrile is known for its crystals of red, orange, and yellow colors and many polymorphs of solved structures (12). Of the many polymorphs, ON (orange needles) nucleates the fastest with the runner up (Y04) trailing by a factor of 103 when compared under the same mobility-limited condition, while the other unobserved polymorphs are slower yet by at least 5 orders of magnitude. Similarly, of the six polymorphs of NIF, [Formula: see text]′ nucleates the fastest, [Formula: see text]′ is slower by a factor of 10, and the rest are slower yet by at least 5 decades. In both systems, the faster-nucleating polymorphs are not built from the lowest-energy conformers, while they tend to have higher energies and lower densities and thus greater similarity to the liquid phase by these measures. The temperature ranges of this study covered the glass transition temperature Tg of each system, and we find no evidence that the nucleation rate is sensitive to the passage of Tg. At the lowest temperatures investigated, the rates of nucleation and growth are proportional to each other, indicating that a similar kinetic barrier controls both processes. The classical nucleation theory provides an accurate description of the observed nucleation rates if the crystal growth rate is used to describe the kinetic barrier for nucleation. The quantitative rates of both nucleation and growth for the competing polymorphs enable prediction of the overall rate of crystallization and its polymorphic outcome.

Color polymorphism in organic crystals

Color polymorphism is an interesting property of chemical systems which present crystal polymorphs of different colors. It is a rare phenomenon, with only a few examples reported in the literature hitherto. Nevertheless, systems exhibiting color polymorphism have many potential applications in different domains, such as pigment, sensor, and technology industries. Here, known representative chemical systems showing color polymorphism are reviewed, and the reasons for them to present such property discussed. Also, since some of the concepts related to color polymorphism have been frequently used imprecisely in the scientific literature, this article provides concise, systematic definitions for these concepts.

Studying of crystal growth and overall crystallization of naproxen from binary mixtures

Broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were applied to investigate the molecular dynamics and phase transitions in binary mixtures composed of naproxen (NAP) and acetylated saccharides: maltose (acMAL) and sucrose (acSUC). Moreover, the application of BDS method and optical microscopy enabled us to study both crystallization kinetics and crystal growth of naproxen from the solid dispersions with the highest content of modified carbohydrates (1:5wt ratio). It was found that the activation barriers of crystallization estimated from dielectric measurements are completely different for both studied herein mixtures. Much higher E_a (=205kJ/mol) was obtained for NAP-acMAL solid dispersion. It is probably due to simultaneous crystallization of both components of the mixture. On the other hand, lower value of E_a in the case of NAP-acSUC solid dispersion (81kJ/mol) indicated, that naproxen is the only crystallizing compound. This hypothesis was confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies. We also suggested that specific intermolecular dipole-dipole interactions between active substance and excipient may be an alternative explanation for the difference between activation barrier obtained for NAP-acMAL and NAP-acSUC binary mixtures. Furthermore, optical measurements showed that the activation energy for crystal growth of naproxen increases in binary mixtures. They also revealed that both excipients: acMAL and acSUC move the temperature of the maximum of crystal growth towards lower temperatures. Interestingly, this maximum occurs for nearly the same structural relaxation time, which is a good approximation of viscosity, for all samples. Finally, it was also noticed that although naproxen crystallizes to the same polymorphic form in both systems, there are some differences in morphology of obtained crystals. Thus, the observed behavior may have a significant impact on the bioavailability and dissolution rate of API produced in that way.

Recent developments in the experimental investigations of relaxations in pharmaceuticals by dielectric techniques at ambient and elevated pressure

In recent years, there is a growing interest in improving the physicochemical stability of amorphous pharmaceutical solids due to their very promising applications to manufacture medicines characterized by a better water solubility, and consequently by a higher dissolution rate than those of their crystalline counterparts. In this review article, we show that the molecular mobility investigated both in the supercooled liquid and glassy states is the crucial factor required to understand molecular mechanisms that govern the physical stability of amorphous drugs. We demonstrate that pharmaceuticals can be thoroughly examined by means of the broadband dielectric spectroscopy, which is a very useful experimental technique to explore different relaxation processes and crystallization kinetics as well. Such studies conducted in the wide temperature and pressure ranges provide data needed in searching correlations between properties of molecular dynamics and crystallization process, which are aimed at developing effective and efficient methods for stabilizing amorphous drugs.

Observation of the nearly constant loss in super rigid saccharides: in search of a hidden crossover in dynamics deep in the glassy state

The molecular dynamics of three saccharides: D-glucose, 1,6-anhydro-D-glucose (levoglucosan) and 1,6:2,3-dianhydro-β-D-mannopyranose of various degrees of freedom, number of hydroxyl groups and internal structures was investigated over a wide range of temperatures and frequencies by means of Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy (BDS). Despite the pronounced variety in the physicochemical properties of the carbohydrates, no change in the shape of the structural relaxation process was observed in the vicinity of the glass transition temperature (β(KWW) = 0.5). On the other hand further studies of the Debye-Stokes-Einstein relationship between dc conductivity and structural dynamics revealed some significant changes connected with the ability to form strong H-bonded structures. Moreover the presence of nearly constant loss (NCL) at moderate frequencies and just below the T(g) in the glassy state of levoglucosan and 1,6:2,3-dianhydro-β-D-mannopyranose was noticeable. We followed the temperature evolution of ε'' located at frequencies f = 0.1 kHz and f = 1 kHz, where the NCL is detected. Interestingly, a clear change in the dynamics far below the glass transition was observed in both compounds. This crossover (T(c)), found in different materials, and studied by various experimental techniques, is usually interpreted as being caused by the freezing of the Johari-Goldstein (JG) relaxation process. Alternatively it can also be due to the increasing anharmonicity in the density of vibrational states. Interestingly, it was shown that the slope of ε''(T) measured above the T(c) slightly changes while below the T(c) stays constant after physical aging. This is related to the densification of the sample that might result in steric hindrance and suppression of some kind of motion occurring in the glassy state, involving the larger parts of the molecules.

High pressure dielectric studies on the structural and orientational glass

High pressure dielectric studies on the H-bonded liquid D-glucose and Orientationally Disordered Crystal (ODIC) 1,6-anhydro-D-glucose (levoglucosan) were carried out. It was shown that in both compounds, the structural relaxation is weakly sensitive to compression. It is well reflected in the low pressure coefficient of the glass transition and orientational glass transition temperatures which is equal to 60 K/GPa for both D-glucose and 1,6-anhydro-D-glucose. Although it should be noted that ∂Tg(0)/∂p evaluated for the latter compound seems to be enormously high with respect to other systems forming ODIC phase. We also found that the shape of the α-loss peak stays constant for the given relaxation time independently on the thermodynamic condition. Consequently, the Time Temperature Pressure (TTP) rule is satisfied. This experimental finding seems to be quite intriguing since the TTP rule was shown to work well in the van der Waals liquids, while in the strongly associating compounds, it is very often violated. We have also demonstrated that the sensitivity of the structural relaxation process to the temperature change measured by the steepness index (mp) drops with pressure. Interestingly, this change is much more significant in the case of D-glucose with respect to levoglucosan, where the fragility changes only slightly with compression. Finally, kinetics of ODIC-crystal phase transition was studied at high compression. It is worth mentioning that in the recent paper, Tombari and Johari [J. Chem. Phys. 142, 104501 (2015)] have shown that ODIC phase in 1,6-anhydro-D-glucose is stable in the wide range of temperatures and there is no tendency to form more ordered phase at ambient pressure. On the other hand, our isochronal measurements performed at varying thermodynamic conditions indicated unquestionably that the application of pressure favors solid (ODIC)-solid (crystal) transition in 1,6-anhydro-D-glucose. This result mimics the impact of pressure on the crystallization of fully disordered supercooled van der Waals liquids.