l-Glutamic Acid Polymorph Control Using Amino Acid Additives

Pushing Technique Boundaries to Probe Conformational Polymorphism

We present an extensive exploration of the solid-form landscape of chlorpropamide (CPA) using a combined experimental-computational approach at the frontiers of both fields. We have obtained new conformational polymorphs of CPA, placing them into context with known forms using flexible-molecule crystal structure prediction. We highlight the formation of a new polymorph (ζ-CPA) via spray-drying experiments despite its notable metastability (14 kJ/mol) relative to the thermodynamic α-form, and we identify and resolve the ball-milled η-form isolated in 2019. Additionally, we employ impurity- and gel-assisted crystallization to control polymorphism and the formation of novel multicomponent forms. We, thus, demonstrate the power of this collaborative screening approach to observe, rationalize, and control the formation of new metastable forms.

One-Step Preparation of Fe3O4/Nanochitin Magnetic Hydrogels with Remolding Ability by Ammonia Vapor Diffusion Gelation for Osteosarcoma Therapy

Chitin, a kind of second abundant natural saccharide, has great potential in biomedical applications. Here, chitin nanofibers combined with magnetic nanoparticles, a magnetic hydrogel, was prepared in one step by mixing Fe ions with partially deacetylated chitin nanofibers (DEChNs) and physically coagulating in an ammonia gas bath. The storage modulus of the prepared magnetic DEChN (M-DEChN) hydrogels reached 5507 Pa and could be remolded by adjusting the pH value assisted with an ultrasound treatment. In addition, the M-DEChN hydrogels showed an assignable heating behavior in alternating electromagnetic fields (AMFs), and the temperature of the M-DEChN was adjustable by controlling the content of magnetic particles inside. Benefiting from the remote heating ability, the biocompatible magnetic hydrogel showed thermoablation ability to osteosarcoma cells both in vitro and in vivo. These kinds of M-DEChN hydrogels show great application prospects in killing cancer cells.

Selective formation of form II paracetamol through the assistance of paracetamol co-crystals as templates in a solution

The arrangement of paracetamol templated by the structure of 1 : 1 co-crystal of paracetamol–maleic acid in solution phase facilitating the nucleation of metastable form II paracetamol.

Ultrasound-assisted intensified crystallization of L-glutamic acid: Crystal nucleation and polymorph transformation

In this paper, the crystallization of L-glutamic acid with application of ultrasound was explored in detail, including the process of nucleation, polymorphic control and polymorphic transformation. The induction time and metastable zone widths (MSZWs) were measured with and without ultrasound during the nucleation process. The induction time and MSZWs were decreased by ultrasound and the induction time was further decreased by higher ultrasonic power. The calculated nucleation parameters (such as interfacial energy, critical nucleus size and critical Gibbs energy) showed an obvious decrease in the presence of ultrasound, indicating that the nucleation was enhanced with application of ultrasound. By adjusting the ultrasonic power in the quench cooling process, the difference in nucleation temperatures would determine the distribution of polymorphs. In further, the polymorphic transformation was investigated quantitatively, and to the best of our knowledge, it was the first time to study the transformation kinetics with ultrasound using Avrami-Erofeev model. In the transformation process, the crystallization mechanism of the stable form was modified by ultrasound. The ultrasound eliminated the nucleation element in the rate-limiting step and facilitated the crystal growth of stable form. Thus, the ultrasound has a profound influence on L-glutamic acid crystallization.

Manipulation of Pharmaceutical Polymorphic Transformation Process Using Excipients

BACKGROUND

In the pharmaceutical field, it is vital to ensure a consistent product containing a single solid-state form of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in the drug product. However, some APIs are suffering from the risk of transformation of their target forms during processing, formulation and storage.

METHODS

The purpose of this review is to summarize the relevant category of excipients and demonstrate the availability and importance of using excipients as a key strategy to manipulate pharmaceutical polymorphic transformation.

RESULTS

The excipient effects on solvent-mediated phase transformations, solid-state transitions and amorphous crystallization are significant. Common pharmaceutical excipients including amino acids and derivatives, surfactants, and various polymers and their different manipulation effects were summarized and discussed.

CONCLUSION

Appropriate use of excipients plays a role in manipulating polymorphic transformation process of corresponding APIs, with a promising application of guaranteeing the stability and effectiveness of drug dosage forms.

Rescaling metal molybdate nanostructures with biopolymer for energy storage having high capacitance with robust cycle stability

Hybrid capacitors can replace or complement batteries, while storing energy through ion adsorption and fast surface redox reactions. There is a growing demand in developing nanostructured materials as electrodes for hybrid systems that can enhance the specific capacitance by ion desolvation in the nanopores. Here, we demonstrate that rescaling the pore diameter with the aid of biopolymer at an optimal level during the synthesis of metal molybdate leads to high capacitance 124 F g^-1 giving robust capacitance retention of 80% over 2000 cycles for a constructed device (activated carbon vs. metal molybdate). The presence of biopolymer (l-glutamic acid) in the metal molybdate acts as a complexing agent of the metal ion while enhancing the mass transport and hence it's improved electrochemical performance. However, XPS and other elemental analyses illustrated no evidence for N doping but traces of other surface functional groups (i.e. C and O) could be present on the molybdate surface. The biopolymer synthetic approach has the advantage of yielding nanostructured material with a relatively narrow pore size distribution controlled by l-glutamic acid. This study will provide a generic route to rescale other metal molybdate, phosphate or oxide counterparts and be an added value to the database.

Targeted therapy of octreotide-modified oleanolic acid liposomes to somatostatin receptor overexpressing tumor cells

AIM

To prepare and validate the efficacy of a novel targeted drug delivery system - octreotide (Oct)-modified oleanolic acid (OA) liposomes.

MATERIALS & METHODS

OA liposomes (OA-L) were prepared by an ethanol injection method. The Oct-modified OA liposomes (O-OA-L) were synthesized and their properties were evaluated. Cellular uptake and competition inhibition studies were performed.

RESULTS

The OA vesicles presented satisfactory particles size (100-200 nm), stability and drug release characteristics; their ζ potential was -1.42 ± 0.08 mV. The O-OA-L had a higher cell proliferation inhibitory activity and cellular uptake than that of OA-L for somatostatin receptor-positive A549 cells.

CONCLUSION

The O-OA-L, as a promising agent, can target actively the lesion site with safe and high-efficiency pattern.

Supersaturation-dependent polymorphic outcome and transformation rate of l-glutamic acid

A link between the predominant conformer in supersaturated l-Glu aqueous solution and the polymorphic outcome is built using FTIR.

Polymorphism and solid-to-solid phase transitions of a simple organic molecule, 3-chloroisonicotinic acid

Three polymorphs have been discovered for 3-chloroisonicotinic acid. Its thermal properties appear to be eventful, including sublimation, melting and recrystallization, and solid-to-solid phase transition. The polymorphism seemingly results from the disruption of molecular symmetry by chlorine substitution.

Crystallization of l-alanine in the presence of additives on a circular PMMA platform designed for metal-assisted and microwave-accelerated evaporative crystallization

Crystallization of l-alanine in the presence of l-valine and l-tryptophan additives on a circular poly(methyl) methacrylate (PMMA) platform designed for Metal-Assisted and Microwave-Accelerated Evaporative Crystallization (MA-MAEC) technique was investigated. Theoretical simulations predicted homogeneous temperature and electric field distributions across the circular PMMA platforms during microwave heating. Crystallization of l-alanine with and without additives on the blank and silver nanoparticle films (SNFs) modified sides of the circular PMMA platform occurred within 32-50 min using MA-MAEC technique, while the identical solutions crystallized within 161-194 min at room temperature. Optical microscopy studies revealed that l-alanine crystals without additives were found to be smaller in size and had several well-developed faces, whereas l-alanine crystals grown with additives appeared to be larger and had only one dominant highly-developed face. Raman spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements showed that all l-alanine crystals had identical peaks, despite the morphological differences between the l-alanine crystals with and without additives observed by optical microscope images.