Crystal structure of minoxidil at low temperature and polymorph prediction.

An experimental and theoretical investigation on crystal forms of the popular and ubiquitous pharmaceutical Minoxidil is presented here. A new crystallization method is presented for Minoxidil (6-(1-piperidinyl)-2,4-pyrimidinediamide 3-oxide) in ethanol-poly(ethylene glycol), yielding crystals with good quality. The crystal structure is determined at low temperature, with a final R value of 0.035, corresponding to space group P2(1) (monoclinic) with cell dimensions a = 9.357(1) A, b = 8.231(1) A, c = 12.931(2) A, and beta = 90.353(4) degrees . Theoretical calculations of the molecular structure of Minoxidil are set forward using empirical force fields and quantum-mechanical methods. A theoretical prediction for Minoxidil crystal structure shows many possible polymorphs. The predicted crystal structures are compared with X-ray experimental data obtained in our laboratory, and the experimental crystal form is found to be one of the lowest energy polymorphs.

Chiral symmetry breaking and polymorphism in 1,1'-binaphthyl melt crystallization.

We have studied chiral symmetry breaking in the melt crystallization of 1,1'-binaphthyl. We confirm that chiral symmetry breaking can be induced by stirring the melt as it crystallizes. We find an additional process of vapor crystallization to occur alongside the melt crystallization. This complicates the analysis of the enantiomorphism by introducing a further phenomenon: that of polymorphism. Crystallographic studies by X-ray diffraction reveal two polymorphs of 1,1'-binaphthyl that are made up of two different conformers of each of the two enantiomeric forms of the molecule. Crystals from the melt are generally chiral tetragonal crystals (P42(1)2(1)) composed of (R)- or (S)-1,1'-binaphthyl in a transoid conformer, while those from the vapor are racemic monoclinic crystals (C2/c) made up of the cisoid conformer of both (R)- and (S)-1,1'-binaphthyl enantiomers. The main intermolecular interactions in all these crystals are weak aromatic CH/pi hydrogen bonds, which are responsible for the enantiomeric discrimination in the molecular recognition during crystallization. A tendency for whisker crystal formation is notable in 1,1'-binaphthyl. In stirred crystallization, fluid and mechanical forces can break off these whiskers, which provide secondary nuclei for further crystallization. This autocatalytic mechanism induces chiral symmetry breaking during the crystallization.