Solvent effect on mineral modification: selective synthesis of cerium compounds by a facile solution route

A mild solution method has been designed for the selective synthesis of orthorhombic and hexagonal CeOHCO(3), as well as cubic CeO(2) crystals in an ethanol/water mixed solvent. This study added a new example for selectively controlling different cerium compounds by manipulating the balance between kinetics and thermodynamics in a mixed solvent system. The competitive reactions taking place in the ethanol/water system, phase transition, and shape evolution were fully investigated: they were found to be strongly dependent on the composition of the reaction media. The influence of the ethanol content in the mixed solvent and that of the reaction time on the phase transition and shape of orthorhombic and hexagonal CeOHCO(3) crystals is discussed in detail. Metastable hexagonal CeOHCO(3) can be trapped, even at 80 degrees C, in the ethanol/water solvent mixture without the need for the high temperature adopted by previous hydrothermal approaches. The evolution process of orthorhombic and metastable hexagonal phases under mild solution conditions is discussed for the first time. Supersaturation will become faster and more evident when water is replaced by ethanol, because the inorganic salts have a lower solubility in ethanol than in water, and this will generally favor the formation of the kinetic phase, such as the hexagonal CeOHCO(3) phase reported in this paper. The optical properties of the products with different phases and composition were investigated.     

Calculation of thermodynamic solution functions in gas-liquid chromatography

The solubility of m- and p-isomers of xylene and fluorotoluene in aromatic stationary phases is investigated. It is shown that orientation interaction can be calculated from a lattice model, with the results compared with experiment. By calculating the orientation and dispersion forces it is possible to construct an enthalpy diagram for molecular rotation, on the basis of which the differences in heats of solution and rotational entropies of the isomers can be determined. An example is cited in which hydrogen bonding was found in systems containing fluorotoluenes. From increments in the heats of solution and rotational entropies of the homologous n-paraffins it is possible to determine the structural characteristics of the solvent, and the accuracy of the proposed structure can be evaluated by calculating the individual heats of solution. The presence of aromatic nuclei and aliphatic radicals in the molecule of the stationary phase can be determined from characteristic variations in the heat-of-solution increments. The size of the natural cavity in the solvent structure can be determined from the rotational entropy increment. It is shown that the selectivity of the stationary phase with respect to the n-paraffin homologs does not remain constant. Aromatic solvents give the highest selectivity.     

Ranking of polymorph stability for a pharmaceutical drug using the Noyes-Whitney titration template method

A further refinement to the screening process of candidate selection in early drug development is the selection of a polymorphic form on the bases of solid state stability. The Noyes-Whitney titration template method has been used routinely by others to determine the intrinsic solubility of sparingly soluble materials. This method uses potentiometric measurements whilst titrating over a pH range to determine the pH-solubility profile of a drug substance. Using a novel modification to the conventional Noyes-Whitney titration template method, this paper describes an application for the determination of the relative stability between polymorphic forms of materials. Such an assessment can be deduced from the change in Gibbs energy that accompanies the physical changes in materials when going from a solid to a solution phase and will be shown to be derived from the intrinsic solubility measurements. In addition, it will be shown that solution calorimetry was used to good effect to help in the interpretation of the solubility results.Three crystalline polymorphic modifications, a hydrate and two anhydrate forms, and an amorphous form of a pure drug substance currently in development in GSK were ranked in terms of physical stability. Stability measurements were made as a function of temperature and a phase diagram over a narrow temperature range was constructed.     

Extension rules

The statement that the solubility is higher for metastable phases than for stable phases can be proved by a relatively simple imaginary experiment. Hence, it follows that the metastable extensions of the solubility limit curves, surfaces, and hypersurfaces in the phase diagrams of binary, ternary, and multicomponent systems cannot run in the single-phase solvent region. A special case for binary systems is the Hollmann’s rule.     

Mechanism of preferential enrichment,an unusual enantiomeric resolution phenomenon caused by polymorphic transition during crystallization of mixed crystals composed of two enantiomers

The mechanism of Preferential Enrichment, an unusual enantiomeric resolution phenomenon observed upon recrystallization of a series of racemic crystals which are classified as a racemic mixed crystal with fairly ordered arrangement of the two enantiomers, has been studied. On the basis of the existence of polymorphs and the occurrence of the resulting polymorphic transition during crystallization from solution, the mechanism has been accounted for in terms of (1) a preferential homochiral molecular association to form one-dimensional chain structures in the supersaturated solution of the racemate or nonracemic sample with a low ee value, (2) a kinetic formation of a metastable crystalline phase retaining the homochiral chain structures in a process of nucleation, (3) a polymorphic transition from the metastable phase to a stable one followed by enantioselective liberation of the excess R (or S) enantiomers from the transformed crystal into solution at the beginning of crystal growth to result in a slight enrichment (up to 10% ee) of the opposite S (or R) enantiomer in the deposited crystals, together with an enantiomeric enrichment of the R (or S) enantiomer in the mother liquor, and (4) a chiral discrimination by the once formed S (or R)-rich stable crystalline phase in a process of the subsequent crystal growth, leading to a considerable enantiomeric enrichment of the R (or S) enantiomer up to 100% ee in the mother liquor. The processes (3) and (4) are considered to be directly responsible for an enrichment of one enantiomer in the mother liquor. The association mode of the two enantiomers in solution has been investigated by means of (i) the solubility measurement and (ii) the number-averaged molecular weight measurement in solution by vapor pressure osmometry, together with (iii) the molecular dynamics simulation of oligomer models. The polymorphic transition during crystallization has been observed visually and by means of the in situ FTIR technique and DSC measurement. Both metastable and stable crystals have been obtained, and their crystal structures have been elucidated by X-ray crystallographic analysis of their single crystals.     

Novel Phenomena of Crystallization and Emulsification of Hydrophobic Solute in Aqueous Solution

Emulsification of lauric acid in an aqueous ethanol solution including lauric acid solute has been observed during cooling before crystallization of lauric acid occurs. The nature of two different solubility curves was explained for the system of lauric acid and aqueous ethanol solution. The mutual solubility of the two liquid phases controls emulsification; the solid solubility of lauric acid controls crystallization. The mutual solubility curve appears at relatively high temperature, and the solid solubility curve at relatively low temperature. Crystallization essentially generates a solid metastable zone under the solid solubility curve. A supersaturated solution can be obtained in the metastable zone. However, no nucleation occurs in the metastable zone. The metastable zone, therefore, still caused emulsification at low temperature before crystallization of lauric acid occurred. The hypothetical mutual solubility curve for the aqueous solution including hydrophobic solutes appeared invariably even at low temperature in the metastable zone under the solid solubility. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

Polarity‐Dependent Isomerization of an Unsymmetrical Overcrowded Ethylene Promoted by Zwitterionic Contribution in the Twisted Isomer

The twisted form of bianthrone is known as a metastable state provided by a photo‐induced or thermal‐induced isomerization of the folded form, and thus prevents the isolation and the detailed analysis of its electronic structure. In this study, an unsymmetrical bianthrone ( 2 ), consisting of the electron‐withdrawing anthrone and electron‐donating acridane, have been synthesized and shown to exhibit a solvent‐polarity‐dependent isomerization reaction between the folded and twisted isomers. With increasing the polarity of the solvent, 2 showed an isomerization reaction from the folded form to the twisted form. The stabilization of the twisted isomer in polar solvents can be interpreted as proof of its relatively large zwitterionic character. The DMF solution of 2 displayed paramagnetically‐broadened NMR signals from the thermally populated triplet state resulting from rotation of the weakened ethylenic double bond of the twisted isomer.     

SEBS aggregate patterning at a surface studied by atomic force microscopy

The morphologies of films spin coated from dilute block copolymer solution onto a mica substrate were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Variables of interest were the polymer concentration, solvent, heating temperature, aging, and ultrasonic effect. It is shown that the solution concentration is the predominant factor in determining the shape of the aggregates displayed from spheres and rods to irregular patches with increasing concentration. The solubility parameter of the solvent plays an important role in modifying the distribution and the size of clusters at the surface. The structures of the aggregates at the surface are metastable, which could evolve with temperature from rodlike aggregates into regular stripes when annealed at a temperature higher than the order-disorder transition temperature of SEBS, whereas those in solution could evolve with aging and ultrasonic treatment into a more stable network structure.     

Simulation of multiple ordered phases in C23 n-alkane

Normal alkanes display multiple ordered phases, including an orthorhombic crystal (X) and two partially ordered rotator phases (RI and RII). The rotator phase transitions X-RI and RI-RII are of interest because they are weakly first-order, and because experiments suggest that crystalline polyethylene may nucleate via a metastable rotator phase. We have performed heating and cooling scans of all-atom NσT (isothermal, isostress) simulations of a pure C(23) solid. We find a sequence of phases, transition temperatures, structural and thermodynamic properties, all reasonably consistent with experiment, except that a monoclinic crystal is more stable in our simulations than the experimental orthorhombic structure. We find that the RI phase is well described as an orthorhombic crystal disordered by random ±90° rotations of molecules about their stem axis, and the RII phase can be represented as a loose hexagonal packing of parallel chain stems, which tend to orient with the in-plane projection of C-C bonds pointing between neighbors. To measure local orthorhombic, RI, or RII order, we define Potts- and Ising-like order parameters, from which global order parameters and correlation functions can be computed. We observe modest pretransitional fluctuations of local RI order in the RII phase near T(RI-RII), characteristic of this weakly first-order transition.     

Solvent-Induced Phase Transformations of Hydrates

An increase of the specific surface area of solid phases is often desirable e.g. for the bioavailability of pharmaceuticals or in chemical processes. Such an increase can a.o. be achieved by suspending crystalline substances in a solvent that induces phase transformations. Hence, the original substance has to be in a metastable state in the solvent. If the stable phase after transformation has in addition a very low solubility in the solvent, a dendritic growth is forced to occur because of the high local supersaturations during the phase change. This dendritic growth of the stable phase in term leads to needle- or whisker-like crystals, which have the desired larger specific surface area in comparison to the initial crystalline substance.In order to investigate this phenomenon several hydrates of salts were chosen, which undergo phase transformations to their anhydrates accompanied by a corresponding loss of crystal water when suspended in excess in lower alcohols. Consequently, anhydrous forms were created by dehydrating these hydrates. The transformation rate or in this case the dehydration level can thus be indirectly measured by Karl-Fischer titration. The thermodynamic background of the dehydration phenomena can be clarified by solubility studies of the hydrates and anhydrates in water/alcohol-mixtures.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Febantel: looking for new polymorphs

The aim of this work was to search for new polymorphic forms of febantel, an anthelminthic drug of great present interest for the veterinary industry. Solvent-based recrystallization, thermal and mechanical treatments and spray drying were chosen to discover new solid forms. The solids obtained were physicochemically characterized by thermal techniques (DSC and TG), FTIR spectroscopy, laboratory and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Our work leads to obtain a new solid form never described in the literature. In particular, the new polymorph was obtained by the anti-solvent method and the crystallization from isopropanol. The experimental conditions of crystallization favorable to the formation of the highest amount of the new solid phase were selected. The new phase shows a thermal, spectroscopic and diffractometric behavior unique. Furthermore, the preliminary structure investigation suggests two possible crystal systems: an orthorhombic or a monoclinic one, with really comparable lattice parameters and cell volume. Measurements put into evidence that the new phase is a metastable polymorph that is in monotropic relationship with the stable and known form.

     

Physical and chemical evolution of PMDA-ODA during thermal imidization

The processing of poly(imide) films from poly(amic acid) solutions involves the simultaneous loss of solvent and chemical conversion, and may involve structural reorganization such as orientation or crystallization. Here, we describe weight loss, solvent sorption. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and wide-angle x-ray scattering (WAXS) studies during thermal imidization of the commercially important poly(imide) PMDA-ODA. The results indicate that imidization proceeds nearly to completion before significant crystallization occurs. The experimental data are interpreted in terms of a triangular phase diagram that makes it possible to plot the processing pathway during the conversion from poly(amic acid) solution to solid poly(imide). In constructing this triangular phase diagram the extent of imidization (i.e., the composition of the poly(amic acid-co-imide) copolymers during conversion) is treated as an independent thermodynamic variable. The form of the triangular phase diagram can be predicted from the Flory-Huggins lattice theory of mixing. There is inevitably a two-phase region present due to the relatively poor solubility of the poly(imide) in the poly(amic acid) solvent (NMP). The specific processing pathway taken depends on the relative amount of solvent loss and imidization during conversion. Further details about the triangular phase diagrams of poly(imides) will require such studies as solvent swelling at intermediate stages of conversion. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Aggregates of poly-functional amphiphilic molecules in water and oil phases

The solvation and aggregate formation of complex amphiphilic molecules such as tetra-acids in polar and nonpolar phases are studied via Molecular Dynamics simulations. The nonpolar core of tetra-acid molecules is found to be effectively impermeable for water molecules resulting in a low solubility in the polar solvent, while nonpolar solvent molecules sufficiently solvate the amphiphilic molecules considered, enabling an open conformation of their molecular structure. The rigidity of the core region of the tetra-acid molecules has been found to play a crucial role in their behavior in both polar and nonpolar phases. In the polar phase, simulations have shown that tetra-acids form micelle-like structures with a small aggregation number, confirming previous experimental work. The identification of a case of study in which micelle-like structures can form only with a small aggregation number enables the study via Molecular Dynamics of micelle-micelle interactions. Micelle stability and dispersion in the polar phase under different conditions can be therefore investigated. In the nonpolar phase, the preferential interactions between carboxyl groups, the affinity of the tetra-acids with the solvent molecules, and the structural characteristics of the central core moiety of the tetra-acids have been found to possibly induce a web like array, or network.     

Solid-solute phase equilibria in aqueous solution. IV. Calculation of Phase Diagrams

The thermodynamic principles of conventional (T-x, P-T) phase diagrams and solubility (log ΣK-x) diagrams depicting solid-solute phase equilibria in aqueous solution are derived from a unifying point of view. It is shown that thermodynamic quantities necessary for the construction of conventional phase diagrams can be obtained from solubility measurements. The unary system calcite-aragonite and the binary system aragonite-strontianite, where solubility data are available over the whole compositional range, have been selected as examples. In the latter case, the constraint of constant composition of the solid phase leading to a metastable equilibrium with the respective solute species is an essential point in the thermodynamic derivation and was observed experimentally as well.     

Low pressure phases Thermodynamic properties of the γ-aminobutyric acid

A metastable form of γ-aminobutyric acid has been prepared by sublimation under vacuum. A theoretical unary phase diagram has been deduce from experimental thermal analysis. Aqueous solution of γ-aminobutyric acid (Gaba) prepared from commercial product (monoclinic) does not cross blood–brain barrier after intra peritoneal administration to mice, hence it displays no anticonvulsion activity. Therefore, we developed a polymorphic form, the solution of which presents such activity. In the present paper the preparation and the physico-chemical properties are reported.     

Study of silica gel and copper silicate gel solubilities in high performance liquid chromatography

Summary After summarizing published results on silica gel and alkyl-bonded silica gel solubilities, the experimental solubility of unmodified silica and copper silicate gel (used in ligand exchange chromatography) in watermethanol-ammonia and water-acetonitrile-ammonia mixtures are given. These results demonstrate that silica gel solubility, measured by a static method, varies greatly with the water volume fraction of a ternary mixture. Curiously, no influence from the organic nature of the solvent was demonstrated. This observation is inconsistent with the fact that the copper silicate gel used in ligand-exchange chromatography with water-methanol-ammonia as mobile phase is attacked more rapidly than with water-acetonitrile-ammonia.An explanation based upon the variations of acid-base properties of silicic acid versus mobile phase dielectric constant values in conjunction with the methanol protophilic properties is proposed. Finally, it is shown that chromatographic columns filled with copper silicate gel have lifetimes of several months, if they are used with a procolumn (of copper silicate gel) and with acetonitrile as organic solvent with a volume fraction greater than 0.5 in the mobile phase.     

Thermoplastic polymer‐dispersed liquid crystals prepared from solvent‐induced phase separation with predictions using solubility parameters

The optical effects of liquid crystals can be realized when the mesogens are dispersed in a supporting and stabilizing polymer phase. Thermoplastics were chosen for their structural reversibility and ease of fabrication of polymer‐dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) from solution via solvent‐induced phase separation (SIPS). The component match and tuning in PDLCs was achieved in a common solvent through predictions of solubility parameters. The PDLCs were first prepared using SIPS and were then exposed to thermal treatments on a hot stage polarizing microscope or in a differential scanning calorimeter. At elevated temperatures the polymer and mesogen may become miscible, while upon cooling thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) should occur, preferably above the isotropic–nematic transition temperature. The nematic phase existed within disperse phase droplets that were stabilized and supported by the matrix polymer. The temperature range of the nematic phase was extended in the PDLC configuration. The droplet size was important for liquid crystalline optical behaviour. Polymer–mesogen interactions, identified through solubility parameters, were important in ensuring sufficient but not coarse phase separation.     

Unusual vesicle-micelle transitions in a salt-free catanionic surfactant: temperature and concentration effects

The spontaneous formation of vesicles by the salt-free surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium octylsulfonate (TASo) and the features of an unusual vesicle-micelle transition are investigated in this work. In a previous work, we have shown that this highly asymmetric catanionic surfactant displays a rare lamellar miscibility gap in the concentrated regime. Here, we analyze in detail the aggregation behavior in the dilute regime (less than 3 wt % surfactant) as a function of both concentration and temperature. The phase diagram is dominated by a two-phase region consisting of a dispersion of a swollen lamellar phase (Lalpha') in the excess solvent phase (L1). Stable vesicles form in this two-phase region, and upon temperature increase, a transition to a single solution phase containing only elongated micelles occurs. The structural characterization of the aggregates and the investigation of their equilibrium properties have been carried out by light microscopy, cryo-TEM, water self-diffusion NMR, and SANS. Similarly to the lamellar-lamellar coexistence, the changes in microstructure at high dilution and high temperature can be understood from solubility differences, electrostatic interactions, and preferred aggregate curvature. Surface charge in the aggregates stems from the higher solubility of the octylsulfonate (So-) ion as compared to that of the hexadecyltrimethylammonium ion (TA+). Upon temperature increase, the ratio of free So(-) relative to the neutral TASo increases. Consequently, the surface charge density of the aggregates increases, and this ultimately induces a transition to a higher-curvature morphology (elongated micelles). Vesicles can also be spontaneously formed by cooling solutions from the micellar region, and the mean size obtained is practically independent of cooling rate, suggesting that dissociation/charge effects also control this process.     

Supramolecular Stabilization of Metastable Tautomers in Solution and the Solid State

This work presents a successful application of a recently reported supramolecular strategy for stabilization of metastable tautomers in cocrystals to monocomponent, non‐heterocyclic, tautomeric solids. Quantum‐chemical computations and solution studies show that the investigated Schiff base molecule, derived from 3‐methoxysalicylaldehyde and 2‐amino‐3‐hydroxypyridine ( ap ), is far more stable as the enol tautomer. In the solid state, however, in all three obtained polymorphic forms it exists solely as the keto tautomer, in each case stabilized by an unexpected hydrogen‐bonding pattern. Computations have shown that hydrogen bonding of the investigated Schiff base with suitable molecules shifts the tautomeric equilibrium to the less stable keto form. The extremes to which supramolecular stabilization can lead are demonstrated by the two polymorphs of molecular complexes of the Schiff base with ap . The molecules of both constituents of molecular complexes are present as metastable tautomers (keto anion and protonated pyridine, respectively), which stabilize each other through a very strong hydrogen bond. All the obtained solid forms proved stable in various solid‐state and solvent‐mediated methods used to establish their relative thermodynamic stabilities and possible interconversion conditions.     

Theory of nonstationary diffusion growth of gas bubble in the supersaturated solution of gas in liquid

General theory of nonstationary diffusion growth of gas bubble in the supersaturated solution of gas in liquid is constructed using the ideas of similarity and self-similar solutions. The balance between the number of gas molecules in solution and in the bubble that displaces incompressible liquid solvent with an increase in bubble size is taken into account at the material isolation of the solution and the bubble. The dependences of the rate of growth of bubble radius on the solubility of gas and the supersaturation of solution are found. The nonstationary effect of a rapid increase in the rate of bubble growth with an increase in the product of gas solubility and solution supersaturation is elucidated. The upper limit of this product at which bubble growth can be considered as isothermal process is established. The theory is constructed at the arbitrary gas solubility.