Structure and electrostatic properties of the pyrimethamine–3,5‐dihydroxybenzoic acid cocrystal in water solvent studied using transferred electron‐density parameters

Pyrimethamine is an antimalarial drug. The cocrystal salt form of pyrimethamine with 3,5‐dihydroxybenzoic acid in water solvent has been synthesized, namely 2,4‐diamino‐5‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐6‐ethylpyrimidin‐1‐ium 3,5‐dihydroxybenzoate hemihydrate, C₁₂H₁₄ClN₄⁺·C₇H₅O₄^?·0.5H₂O. X‐ray diffraction data were collected at room temperature. Refinement of the crystal structure was carried out using the classical Independent Atom Model (IAM), while the electrostatic properties were studied by transferring electron‐density parameters from an electron‐density database. The Cl atom was refined anharmonically. The results of both refinement methods were compared. Topological analyses were carried out using Bader's theory of Atoms in Molecules (AIM). The three‐dimensional Hirshfeld surface analysis and the two‐dimensional fingerprint maps of individual molecules revealed that the crystal structures are dominated by H…O/O…H and H…H contacts. Other close contacts are also present, including weak C…H/H…C contacts. Charge transfer between the pyrimethamine and 3,5‐dihydroxybenzoic acid molecules results in a molecular assembly based on strong intermolecular hydrogen bonds. This is further validated by the calculation of the electrostatic potential based on transferred electron‐density parameters. The current work proves the significance of the transferability principle in studying the electron‐density‐derived properties of molecules in cases where high‐resolution diffraction data at low temperature are not available.