Complete chiral resolution in a continuous flow crystallizer with recycle stream

Temperature cycling-induced formation of crystalline coatings

The surface of particles is the hotspot of interaction with their environment and is therefore a major target for particle engineering. Particles with tailored coatings are greatly desired for a range of different applications. Amorphous coatings applied via film coating or microencapsulation have frequently been described in the pharmaceutical context and usually result in homogeneous surfaces. In the present study we have been exploring the feasibility of coating core particles with crystalline substances, a matter that has rarely been investigated. The expansion of the range of possible coating materials to include small organic molecules enables completely new product properties to be achieved. We present an approach based on temperature cycles performed in a tubular crystallizer to result in engineered crystalline coatings on excipient core particles. By manipulating the process settings and by the choice of coating substance we are able to tailor surface roughness, topography as well as surface chemistry. Benefits of our approach are demonstrated by using resulting particles as carriers in dry-powder-inhaler formulations. Depending on the resulting surface chemistry and surface roughness, coated carrier particles show varying fitness for delivering the model API salbutamol sulphate to the lung.

Solid-State Deracemization via Temperature Cycles in Continuous Operation: Model-Based Process Design

Solid-state deracemization via temperature cycles converts a racemic crystal mixture into an enantiopure product by periodic cycling of the temperature in the presence of a racemization catalyst. A continuous counterpart of this conventional batch-operated process is proposed that can be performed in mixed suspension mixed product removal crystallizers (MSMPRCs). More specifically, three different configurations are described to perform periodic forcing via temperature cycles, which differ from each other in the type of the feed and in the withdrawal system. We have developed a model by extending our recent population balance equation model of batch solid-state deracemization via temperature cycles, and we exploit this tool to analyze the start-up and periodic steady-state behavior. Moreover, we compare the performance of the different configurations based on the selected key performance indicators, namely, average periodic steady-state enantiomeric excess and productivity. The process with solution feed yields pure enantiomers, while the solid and suspension-fed process alternatives result in highly enantiomerically enriched crystals. We further design an MSMPRC cascade to overcome this purity limitation. This work discusses guidelines on how to transform the batch process of temperature cycles into a continuous operation, which enables stable, unattended operation and chiral crystal production with consistent product quality.

Symmetry and chirality in crystals

A classification scheme relating the chirality of molecules to the type of crystal structures (chiral or achiral) they may form is presented. With respect to similar classifications proposed in the past, some corrections and extensions are introduced. In particular, (1) it is shown that chiral crystal structures from achiral molecules can occur in 28 types of space group having screw axes np , with p ≠ n/2, not in any Sohncke type of space group; (2) it is shown that the restriction on Z′ > 1 for kryptoracemates is contradicted by examples with Z′ = 1; and (3) the case of scalemic enantioenriched solutions, absent from most classifications, is included. Chiral crystal structures from purely inorganic (non-molecular) compounds are addressed too.