Applications of Thermal Analysis and Coupled Techniques in Pharmaceutical Industry

Thermal analysis methods are well-established techniques in research laboratories of pharmaceutical industry. The robustness and sensitivity of instrumentation, the introduction of automation and of reliable software according to the industrial needs widened considerably the areas of applications in the last decade. Calibration of instruments and validation of results follow the state of the art of cGMP as for other analytical techniques. Thermal analysis techniques are especially useful for the study of the behavior of the poly-phasic systems drug substances and excipients and find a unique place for new delivery systems. Since change of temperature and moisture occur by processing and storage, changes of the solid state may have a considerable effect on activity, toxicity and stability of compounds. Current requirements of the International Conference of Harmonisation for the characterization and the quantitation of polymorphism in new entities re-enforce the position of thermal analysis techniques. This challenging task needs the use of complementary methods. Combined techniques and microcalorimetry demonstrate their advantages. This article reviews the current use of thermal analysis and combined techniques in research and development and in production. The advantage of commercially coupled techniques to thermogravimetry is emphasized with some examples. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Manipulation of Molecular Aggregation States to Realize Polymorphism,AIE, MCL,and TADF in a Single Molecule

Multifunctional emitting materials are scarce and need to be further explored. Now, a newly anthraquinone derivative, 2‐(phenothiazine‐10‐yl)‐anthraquinone (PTZ‐AQ) was designed and synthesized and found to demonstrate polymorphism, multi‐color emission, aggregation‐induced emission (AIE), mechanochromic luminescence (MCL), and thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) in its different solid forms. It is shown for the first time that TADF properties of a compound can be systematically tuned via its aggregation state. The optimized PTZ‐AQ crystal shows a small singlet–triplet energy splitting of 0.01 eV and exhibits red TADF with a photoluminescence quantum yield as high as 0.848. This study shows that the unique multiple functions can be integrated into one single compound through controlling the aggregation states, which provides a new strategy for the investigation and application of multifunctional organic materials.     

Binary polymorphic cocrystals: an update on the available literature in the Cambridge Structural Database,including a new polymorph of the pharmaceutical 1:1 cocrystal theophylline–3,4‐dihydroxybenzoic acid

An analysis and classification of the 2925 neutral binary organic cocrystals in the Cambridge Structural Database is reported, focusing specifically on those both showing polymorphism and containing an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). The search was confined to molecules having only C, H, N, O, S and halogens atoms. It was found that 400 out of 2925 cocrystals can be classified as pharmaceutical cocrystals, containing at least one API, and that of those, 56 can be classified as being polymorphic cocrystals. In general, the total number of polymorphic cocrystal systems of any type stands at 125. In addition, a new polymorph of the pharmaceutical cocrystal theophylline–3,4‐dihydroxybenzoic acid (1/1), C₇H₈N₄O₂·C₇H₆O₄, is reported.     

Genomics of selected human odorant receptors

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in odorant receptor genes may influence the protein sequence and consequently also the function of the receptors. An analysis of the HapMap data for human OR3A1 was performed and provided evidence that genetic differences subject to ancestry and gender can be recognized. A genomic comparison of individuals shows the diversity of odorant receptor genes and therefore potentially the variety of the sense of smell. At this time, two complete human genomes are available in public domain, which we used for this purpose. Correspondence: Anton Beyer, Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.     

A new monoclinic crystal phase of [Bu4N][Ni(dmit)2]

The crystal structure of the title compound, tetrabutylammonium bis(2-thioxo-1,3-dithiole-4,5-dithiolato)nickelate(III), [N(C₄H₉)₄][Ni(C₃S₅)₂], is the fourth known phase of this polymorphous compound. It is monoclinic space group P2₁/c, with a = 20.040(2) Å, b = 13.1151(17) Å, c = 12.1093(15) Å, = 105.456(15)°, and V = 3067.5(6) ų with Z = 4, for D _calc = 1.503 g cm^–3. The [Ni(dmit)₂] anion packing arrangement consists of arrays of side-on touching anions and these arrays are connected via head-to-tail close S S contacts.     

Voltage‐programming‐based capillary gel electrophoresis for the fast detection of angiotensin‐converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism with high sensitivity

A voltage‐programming‐based capillary gel electrophoresis method with a laser‐induced fluorescence detector was developed for the fast and highly sensitive detection of DNA molecules related to angiotensin‐converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism, which has been reported to influence predisposition to various diseases such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, myocardial infarction, and Alzheimer's disease. Various voltage programs were investigated for fast detection of specific DNA molecules of angiotensin‐converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism as a function of migration time and separation efficiency to establish the effect of voltage strength to resolution. Finally, the amplified products of the angiotensin‐converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism (190 and 490 bp DNA) were analyzed in 3.2 min without losing resolution under optimum voltage programming conditions, which were at least 75 times faster than conventional slab gel electrophoresis. In addition, the capillary gel electrophoresis method also successfully applied to the analysis of real human blood samples, although no polymorphism genes were detected by slab gel electrophoresis. Consequently, the developed voltage‐programming capillary gel electrophoresis method with laser‐induced fluorescence detection is an effective, rapid analysis technique for highly sensitive detection of disease‐related specific DNA molecules.     

Study on the crystal transformation of ammonium polyphosphate crystalline form V

The crystal transformation of ammonium polyphosphate crystalline form V (APPv) was studied. The effects of heating time and water content in the reactor were explored. The results showed that APPv underwent complete conversion to crystalline form II (APPii) when heated at 200°C. The pure and water-insoluble APPii was obtained under the alternate wet ammonia and dry ammonia atmosphere. Then, the thermal behavior of APPv and APPii was investigated. The TG analysis showed APPv had high thermal stability over the range of 300°C to 580°C, which was possibly due to its highly cross-linked structures.     

Competitive influence of atactic polystyrene and supercritical carbon dioxide on the conformation of syndiotactic polystyrene

The crystallization behavior of miscible syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) and atactic polystyrene (aPS) blends with different sPS/aPS weight ratios was investigated in supercritical CO₂ by using Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction. Supercritical CO₂ and aPS exhibited different effects on the conformational change of sPS and competed with each other. Increasing the content of amorphous aPS in the blends made its effect on the conformational change of sPS gradually surpass that of supercritical CO₂. Supercritical CO₂ favored the formation of the helical conformation of sPS in lower temperature range and the all trans planar conformation in higher temperature range, instead of forming the latter one only in higher temperature range in ambient atmosphere. However, increasing aPS content in the blends pushed the range for forming the helical conformation to lower temperature and made the all trans planar conformation dominant in aPS/sPS 25/75 blend after treating in supercritical CO₂ above 60 °C. The all trans planar zigzag conformation was more favorable than the helical conformation after mixing aPS in sPS in supercritical CO₂. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 1755–1764, 2007     

Structure and properties of the mesophase of syndiotactic polystyrene. II. Effect of stepwise extraction on the preparation of the mesophase

In this study, a novel stepwise extraction method has been examined. The guest molecules housed between the helices of the clathrate δ form of syndiotactic polystyrene can be removed completely with this method. A systematic study of the preparation of a solvent‐free mesophase (emptied clathrate) membrane, its helical and residual solvent contents, and its structural transformations has been performed. In this first attempt, an enhancement in the TTGG helical content has been observed in the extracted membrane, and a conceptual mechanism is proposed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 269–273, 2003     

1H NMR studies of molecular relaxations of poly-1-butene

The temperature dependance of the proton NMR line shape, T₁ and T_1ρ of isotactic poly-1-butene forms I, I′, II, and III have been studied between 100 and 400 K (up to melting). The usual line shape decompositions concerning rigid vs. crystalline and mobile vs. amorphous phases are discussed. The rigid-lattice second moments were calculated introducing a fast rotation of the methyl group. Complex spin-lattice decays were analyzed as a continuous distribution of rates. Relaxation behavior was analyzed in terms of a Williams-Watt correlation function. Motions in the crystalline parts of samples in forms II and III very similar to the amorphous one were revealed, leading us to compare form II to a condis crystal during the crystal form transformation. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.