Crystal optics of D-mannitol, C 6 H 14 O 6 : crystal growth, structure, basic physical properties, birefringence, optical activity, Faraday effect, electro-optic effects and model calculations

A Critical Review on Engineering of d-Mannitol Crystals: Properties, Applications, and Polymorphic Control

d-mannitol is a common six-carbon sugar alcohol, which is widely used in food, chemical, pharmaceutical, and other industries. Polymorphism is defined as the ability of materials to crystallize into different crystal structures. It has been reported for a long time that d-mannitol has three polymorphs: β, δ, and α. These different polymorphs have unique physicochemical properties, thus affecting the industrial applications of d-mannitol. In this review, we firstly introduced the characteristics of different d-mannitol polymorphs, e.g., crystal structure, morphology, molecular conformational energy, stability, solubility and the analytical techniques of d-mannitol polymorphisms. Then, we described the different strategies for the preparation of d-mannitol crystals and focused on the polymorphic control of d-mannitol crystals in the products. Furthermore, the factors of the formation of different d-mannitol polymorphisms were summarized. Finally, the application of mannitol polymorphism was summarized. The purpose of this paper is to provide new ideas for a more personalized design of d-mannitol for various applications, especially as a pharmaceutical excipient. Meanwhile, the theoretical overview on polymorphic transformation of d-mannitol may shed some light on the crystal design study of other polycrystalline materials.

Cleaving Method for Molecular Crystals and Its Application to Calculation of the Surface Free Energy of Crystalline β-d-Mannitol at Room Temperature

Calculation of the surface free energy (SFE) is an important application of the thermodynamic integration (TI) methodology, which was mainly employed for atomic crystals (such as Lennard–Jones or metals). In this work, we present the calculation of the SFE of a molecular crystal using the cleaving technique which we implemented in the LAMMPS molecular dynamics package. We apply this methodology to a crystal of β-d-mannitol at room temperature and report the results for two types of force fields belonging to the GROMOS family: all atoms and united atoms. The results show strong dependence on the type of force field used, highlighting the need for the development of better force fields to model the surface properties of molecular crystals. In particular, we observe that the united-atoms force field, despite its higher degree of coarse graining compared to the all-atoms force field, produces SFE results in better agreement with the experimental results from inverse gas chromatography measurements.

Chiroptical anisotropy of crystals and molecules

Optical activity, a foundational part of chemistry, is not restricted to chiral molecules although generations have been instructed otherwise. A more inclusive view of optical activity is valuable because it clarifies structure-property relationships however, this view only comes into focus in measurements of oriented molecules, commonly found in crystals. Unfortunately, measurements of optical rotatory dispersion or circular dichroism in anisotropic single crystals have challenged scientists for more than two centuries. New polarimetric methods for unpacking the optical activity of crystals in general directions are still needed. Such methods are reviewed as well as some of the 'nourishment' they provide, thereby inviting to new researchers. Methods for fitting intensity measurements in terms of the constitutive tensor that manifests as the differential refraction and absorption of circularly polarized light, are described, and examples are illustrated. Single oriented molecules, as opposed to single oriented crystals, can be treated computationally. Structure-property correlations for such achiral molecules with comparatively simple electronic structures are considered as a heuristic foundation for the response of crystals that may be subject to measurement.

Factors Controlling Persistent Needle Crystal Growth: The Importance of Dominant One-Dimensional Secondary Bonding, Stacked Structures, and van der Waals Contact

Needle crystals can cause filtering and handling problems in industrial settings, and the factors leading to a needle crystal morphology have been investigated. The crystal growth of the amide and methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, and t-butyl esters of diflunisal have been examined, and needle growth has been observed for all except the t-butyl ester. Their crystal structures show that the t-butyl ester is the only structure that does not contain molecular stacking. A second polymorph of a persistent needle forming phenylsulfonamide with a block like habit has been isolated. The structure analysis has been extended to known needle forming systems from the literature. The intermolecular interactions in needle forming structures have been analyzed using the PIXEL program, and the properties driving needle crystal growth were found to include a 1D motif with interaction energy greater than -30 kJ/mol, at least 50% vdW contact between the motif neighbors, and a filled unit cell which is a monolayer. Crystal structures are classified into persistent and controllable needle formers. Needle growth in the latter class can be controlled by choice of solvent. The factors shown here to be drivers of needle growth will help in the design of processes for the production of less problematic crystal products.

Mannitol Crystallization at Sub-Zero Temperatures: Time/Temperature-Resolved Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction Study and the Phase Diagram

Mannitol, a common pharmaceutical ingredient, exhibits complex polymorphism even in simple binary mannitol/water mixtures, with four crystalline forms observed. In this investigation, time/temperature-resolved synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements are performed during freezing and thawing of mannitol/water mixtures. Mannitol crystallization depends strongly on the cooling rate and is initiated during cooling, if the cooling rate is lower than the critical cooling rate; otherwise, mannitol remains amorphous during freezing and crystallizes during subsequent heating above -30 °C. A temperature-composition phase diagram is constructed, reflecting eutectic and peritectic points and lower-temperature equilibria involving mannitol hemihydrate, hexagonal ice, and β-mannitol. Comparison of the experimental data with the phase diagram reveals that the mannitol crystallization behavior does not follow the equilibrium but appears to obey the Ostwald crystallization rule. Novel insights on equilibrium and kinetics phase relationships in mannitol/water systems could lead to improved formulations and manufacturing processes for pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals.

General Method for the Identification of Crystal Faces Using Raman Spectroscopy Combined with Machine Learning and Application to the Epitaxial Growth of Acetaminophen

Crystal morphology is one of the key crystallographic characteristics that governs the macroscopic properties of crystalline materials. The identification of crystal faces, or face indexing, is an important technique that is used to get information regarding a crystal's morphology. However, it is mainly limited to single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) and it is often not applicable to products of routine crystallizations becasue it requires high quality single crystals in a narrow size range. To overcome the limitations of the SCXRD method, we have developed a robust and convenient Raman face indexing method based on work by Moriyama et al. This method exploits small but detectable differences in Raman spectra of crystal faces caused by different orientations of the crystallographic axis relative to the direction and polarization of the excitation laser beam. The method requires the compilation of a Raman spectral library for each compound and must be built and validated by SCXRD face indexing. Once the spectral library is available for a compound, the identity of unknown crystal faces (from any crystal that is larger than laser beam) can be inferred by collecting and comparing the Raman spectra to spectra within the library. We have optimized this approach further by developing a machine-learning algorithm that identifies crystal faces by performing a statistical comparison of the spectra in the Raman library and the Raman spectra of the unknown crystal faces. Here, we report the development of the Raman face indexing method and apply it to three different epitaxial systems: Acetaminophen (APAP) grown as an overlayer crystal on d-mannitol (MAN), d-galactose (GAL), and xylitol (XYL) substrates. For each of these epitaxial systems, the crystals were grown under various experimental conditions and have a wide range of sizes and quality. Using the Raman face indexing method, we were able to perform high-throughput indexing of a large number of crystals from different crystallization conditions, which could not be achieved using SCXRD or other analytical techniques.

A Holistic Multi Evidence Approach to Study the Fragmentation Behaviour of Crystalline Mannitol

Mannitol is an essential excipient employed in orally disintegrating tablets due to its high palatability. However its fundamental disadvantage is its fragmentation during direct compression, producing mechanically weak tablets. The primary aim of this study was to assess the fracture behaviour of crystalline mannitol in relation to the energy input during direct compression, utilising ball milling as the method of energy input, whilst assessing tablet characteristics of post-milled powders. Results indicated that crystalline mannitol fractured at the hydrophilic (011) plane, as observed through SEM, alongside a reduction in dispersive surface energy. Disintegration times of post-milled tablets were reduced due to the exposure of the hydrophilic plane, whilst more robust tablets were produced. This was shown through higher tablet hardness and increased plastic deformation profiles of the post-milled powders, as observed with a lower yield pressure through an out-of-die Heckel analysis. Evaluation of crystal state using x-ray diffraction/differential scanning calorimetry showed that mannitol predominantly retained the β-polymorph; however x-ray diffraction provided a novel method to calculate energy input into the powders during ball milling. It can be concluded that particle size reduction is a pragmatic strategy to overcome the current limitation of mannitol fragmentation and provide improvements in tablet properties.

3D printing of representation surfaces from tensor data of KH2PO4 and low-quartz utilizing the WinTensor software

Tensorial properties such as thermal expansion, optical rotation, the electro-optic effect, elastic constants, and many more are prepared with a Windows executable, WinTensor, for rendering a graphical representation that can be viewed on a monitor or printed out for a tangible 3D model. Examples of 3D printed representation surfaces in KH2PO4 and low-quartz are provided together with a summary of the state of the arts of 3D printing.

Temperature-dependent optical rotatory power in the presence of birefringence of KTA and KTP crystals by the high-accuracy universal polarimeter method at 632.8 nm wavelength

Temperature-dependent simultaneous measurement of birefringence and optical rotatory power (ORP) for orthorhombic crystals of potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) and potassium titanyl arsenate (KTA) has been achieved by using the high-accuracy universal polarimeter method at 632.8 nm wavelength. The birefringence and ORP changes along the (110) planes for KTA and KTP crystals were found to have a nearly parabolic form for the temperature range 297–493 K. The thermal variation coefficients were found to be 0.9 (5) × 10−5 K−1and 5.6 (3) × 10−8 K−2for KTA and 0.9 (5) × 10−5K−1and 5.7 (3) × 10−8 K−2for KTP. The ORPs at 297 K were found to be 20.0 (20) and 20.5 (15)° mm−1for KTA and KTP, respectively. The thermal variation coefficients of the ORP were found to be 1.8 (2) × 10−3° mm−1 K−1and 1.1 (1) × 10–5° mm−1 K−2for KTA and 1.9 (2) × 10−3° mm−1 K−1and 1.2 (1) × 10−5° mm−1 K−2for KTP.

Spray dried mannitol carrier particles with tailored surface properties--the influence of carrier surface roughness and shape

The aim of this work was to study the performance of mannitol carrier particles of tailored surface roughness in dry powder inhaler formulations. Carrier particles of different surface roughness were prepared by spray drying of aqueous mannitol solutions at different outlet temperatures at a pilot-scale spray dryer. However, the carrier particles did not only change in surface roughness but also in shape. This is why the impact of carrier shape on the performance of carrier based dry powder inhalates was evaluated also. The highest fine particle fraction (FPF), that is the amount of active pharmaceutical substance, delivered to the deep lung, is achieved when using rough, spherical carrier particles (FPF=29.23 ± 4.73%, mean arithmetic average surface roughness (mean R(a))=140.33 ± 27.75 nm, aspect ratio=0.925). A decrease of surface roughness (mean R(a)=88.73 ± 22.25 nm) leads to lower FPFs (FPF=14.62 ± 1.18%, aspect ratio=0.918). The FPF further decreases when irregular shaped particles are used. For those particles, the micronized active accumulates within the cavities of the carrier surface during the preparation of the powder mixtures. Upon inhalation, the cavities may protect the active from being detached from the carrier.

Twisted mannitol crystals establish homologous growth mechanisms for high-polymer and small-molecule ring-banded spherulites

D-Mannitol belongs to a large and growing family of crystals with helical morphologies (Yu, L. J. Am. Chem. Soc.2003, 125, 6380). Two polymorphs of D-mannitol, α and δ, when grown in the presence of additives such as poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) or D-sorbitol, form ring-banded spherulites composed of handed helical fibrils, where the helix axes correspond to the radial growth directions. The two polymorphs form helices with opposite senses in the presence of PVP but the same sense in the presence of D-sorbitol. The characteristic dimensions of the fibrils, including thickness, aspect ratio, and pitch, were determined by scanning probe and electron microscopies. These values must form the basis of any theory that presupposes what forces give rise to crystal twisting, a problem that has been broached but unsettled in the literature of polymer crystallization. The interdependence of the rhythmic variations of both linear and circular birefringence, as determined by Mueller matrix microscopy, informs the cooperative organization of mannitol fibers. The microstructure of mannitol ring-banded spherulites compares favorably to that of high polymers and is evaluated within the context of current theories of crystal twisting.

Structure, morphology and optical properties of chiral N-(4-X-phenyl)-N-[1(S)-1-phenylethyl]thiourea, X= Cl, Br, and NO2

Three new enantiopure aryl-thioureas have been synthesized, N-(4-X-phenyl)-N-[1(S)-1-phenylethyl]thiourea, X= Cl, Br, and NO2 (compounds 1-3, respectively). Large single crystals of up to 0.5 cm(3) were grown from methanol/ethanol solutions. Molecular structures were derived from X-ray diffraction studies and the crystal morphology was compared to calculations employing the Bravais-Friedel, Donnay-Harker model. Molecular packing was further studied with Hirshfeld surface calculations. Semi-empirical classical model calculations of refractive indices, optical rotation and the electro-optic effect were performed with OPTACT on the basis of experimentally determined refractive indices. Compound 3 (space group P 1 (No. 1)) was estimated to possess a large electro-optic coefficient r(333) of approximately 30 pm/V, whereas 1 and 2 (space Group P 2(1) (No. 4) exhibit much smaller effects.

Optical rotation in RbTiOAsO4 (point group mm2)

Measurement of optical rotation in RbTiOAsO4 (RTA) with the tilter method resulted in an optical rotation of ρ 12= +17(3)o/mm at a wavelength of 670nm, when a (100) sample was tilted about [001]. A tilt about [010] showed no rotation, as expected from the directional dependence of optical rotation calculated from the tensor in point group mm2. The absolute Miller-indices of the sam-les were found using X-ray anomalous scattering. The calculations with a dipole-dipole model show that the As5+-ions in RTA correlate with the main structural contribution of the optical rotation. However, there seems to be an even larger intrinsic contribution due to the Ti4+ – ions as a result of the distorted octahedral co-ordination with oxygen.

Non-linear optical properties and absolute structure of metastable 4-methyl benzophenone

Metastable 4-methyl benzophenone (4-MBP, C14H12O) crystallizes in the polar (pyroelectric) and enantiomorphic space groups (SG) P31 and P32. The optical rotation tensor has been measured for 670 nm and the material was tested for evidence of phase-matchability. The absolute structure was determined via three-beam diffraction, showing that the structural right-hand screw 31 is combined with positive (right-handed, i.e. clockwise when looking towards the light source) optical rotation, for both tensor components ρ 11 = ρ 22 = 26(5)°/mm, ρ 33 = 8.3(5)°/mm (contrary to low-quartz which shows negative optical rotation for ρ 33 and positive rotation for ρ 11 in right-hand SG P312).

The non-linear optical tensors for optical rotation, d-coefficients, electro-optic effect and electrogyration have been calculated using a set of electronic polarizabilities as input parameters for a dipole-dipole interaction model that reproduces the experimental refractive indices and optical rotation. Unusually high polarizability volumes are needed for hydrogen atom bonding to aromatic carbons in order to model the optical tensors. The non-linear optical coefficients are of medium size.