Tizanidine and tizanidine hydrochloride: on the correct tautomeric form of tizanidine

A crystallization series of tizanidine hydrochloride, used as a muscle relaxant for spasticity acting centrally as an α₂‐adrenergic agonist, yielded single crystals of the free base and the hydrochloride salt. The crystal structures of tizanidine [systematic name: 5‐chloro‐N‐(imidazolidin‐2‐ylidene)‐2,1,3‐benzothiadiazol‐4‐amine], C₉H₈ClN₅S, (I), and tizanidine hydrochloride {systematic name: 2‐[(5‐chloro‐2,1,3‐benzothiadiazol‐4‐yl)amino]imidazolidinium chloride}, C₉H₉ClN₅S⁺·Cl⁻, (II), have been determined. Tizanidine crystallizes with two almost identical molecules in the asymmetric unit (r.m.s. deviation = 0.179 Å for all non‐H atoms). The molecules are connected by N—H...N hydrogen bonds forming chains running along [21]. The present structure determination corrects the structure determination of tizanidine by John et al. [Acta Cryst. (2011), E 67 , o838–o839], which shows an incorrect tautomeric form. Tizanidine does not crystallize as the usually drawn 2‐amino–imidazoline tautomer, but as the 2‐imino–imidazolidine tautomer. This tautomer is present in solution as well, as shown by ¹H NMR analysis. In tizanidine hydrochloride, cations and anions are connected by N—H...Cl hydrogen bonds to form layers parallel to (100).