Solid‐State Form Screen of Cardiosulfa and Its Analogues

Cardiosulfa is a biologically active sulfonamide molecule that was recently shown to induce abnormal heart development in zebrafish embryos through activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). The present report is a systematic study of solid‐state forms of cardiosulfa and its biologically active analogues that belong to the N‐(9‐ethyl‐9H‐carbazol‐3‐yl)benzene sulfonamide skeleton. Cardiosulfa (molecule 1 ; R¹=NO₂, R²=H, R³=CF₃), molecule 2 (H, H, CF₃), molecule 3 (CF₃, H, H), molecule 4 (NO₂, H, H), molecule 5 (H, CF₃, H), and molecule 6 (H, H, H) were synthesized and subjected to a polymorph search and solid‐state form characterization by X‐ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), variable‐temperature powder X‐ray diffraction (VT‐PXRD), FTIR, and solid‐state (ss) NMR spectroscopy. Molecule 1 was obtained in a single‐crystalline modification that is sustained by N? H???π and C? H???O interactions but devoid of strong intermolecular N? H???O hydrogen bonds. Molecule 2 displayed a N? H???O catemer C(4) chain in form I, whereas a second polymorph was characterized by PXRD. The dimorphs of molecule 3 contain N? H???π and C? H???O interactions but no N? H???O bonds. Molecule 4 is trimorphic with N? H???O catemer in form I, and N? H???π and C? H???O interactions in form II, and a third polymorph was characterized by PXRD. Both polymorphs of molecule 5 contain the N? H???O catemer C(4) chain, whereas the sulfonamide N? H???O dimer synthon R₂²(8) was observed in polymorphs of 6 . Differences in the strong and weak hydrogen‐bond motifs were correlated with the substituent groups, and the solubility and dissolution rates were correlated with the conformation in the crystal structure of 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 . Higher solubility compounds, such as 2 (10.5 mg mL^?1) and 5 (4.4 mg mL^?1), adopt a twisted confirmation, whereas less‐soluble 1 (0.9 mg mL^?1) is nearly planar. This study provides practical guides for functional‐group modification of drug lead compounds for solubility optimization.