Molecular Structure, Spectral Investigations, Hydrogen Bonding Interactions and Reactivity-Property Relationship of Caffeine-Citric Acid Cocrystal by Experimental and DFT Approach

Insight into Formation, Synchronized Release and Stability of Co-Amorphous Curcumin-Piperine by Integrating Experimental-Modeling Techniques

Intermolecular interactions between drug and co-former are crucial in the formation, release and physical stability of co-amorphous system. However, the interactions remain difficult to investigate with only experimental tools. In this study, intermolecular interactions of co-amorphous curcumin-piperine (i.e., CUR-PIP CM) during formation, dissolution and storage were explored by integrating experimental and modeling techniques. The formed CUR-PIP CM exhibited the strong hydrogen bond interaction between the phenolic OH group of CUR and the CO group of PIP as confirmed by FTIR, ss 13C NMR and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. In comparison to crystalline CUR, crystalline PIP and their physical mixture, CUR-PIP CM performed significantly increased dissolution accompanied by the synchronized release of CUR and PIP, which arose from the greater interaction energy of H2O-CUR molecules and H2O-PIP molecules than CUR-PIP molecules, breaking the hydrogen bond between CUR and PIP molecules, and then causing a pair-wise solvation of CUR-PIP CM at the molecular level. Furthermore, the stronger intermolecular interaction between CUR and PIP was revealed by higher binding energy of CUR-PIP molecules, which contributed to the excellent physical stability of CUR-PIP CM over amorphous CUR or PIP. The study provides a unique insight into the formation, release and stability of co-amorphous system from MD perspective. Meanwhile, this integrated technique can be used as a practical methodology for the future design of co-amorphous formulations.

Cocrystal Prediction of Nifedipine Based on the Graph Neural Network and Molecular Electrostatic Potential Surface

Nifedipine (NIF) is a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker primarily used to treat conditions such as hypertension and angina. However, its low solubility and low bioavailability limit its effectiveness in clinical practice. Here, we developed a cocrystal prediction model based on Graph Neural Networks (CocrystalGNN) for the screening of cocrystals with NIF. And scoring 50 coformers using CocrystalGNN. To validate the reliability of the model, we used another prediction method, Molecular Electrostatic Potential Surface (MEPS), to verify the prediction results. Subsequently, we performed a second validation using experiments. The results indicate that our model achieved high performance. Ultimately, cocrystals of NIF were successfully obtained and all cocrystals exhibited better solubility and dissolution characteristics compared to the parent drug. This study lays a solid foundation for combining virtual prediction with experimental screening to discover novel water-insoluble drug cocrystals.

Complementary supramolecular drug associates in perfecting the multidrug therapy against multidrug resistant bacteria

The inappropriate and inconsistent use of antibiotics in combating multidrug-resistant bacteria exacerbates their drug resistance through a few distinct pathways. Firstly, these bacteria can accumulate multiple genes, each conferring resistance to a specific drug, within a single cell. This accumulation usually takes place on resistance plasmids (R). Secondly, multidrug resistance can arise from the heightened expression of genes encoding multidrug efflux pumps, which expel a broad spectrum of drugs from the bacterial cells. Additionally, bacteria can also eliminate or destroy antibiotic molecules by modifying enzymes or cell walls and removing porins. A significant limitation of traditional multidrug therapy lies in its inability to guarantee the simultaneous delivery of various drug molecules to a specific bacterial cell, thereby fostering incremental drug resistance in either of these paths. Consequently, this approach prolongs the treatment duration. Rather than using a biologically unimportant coformer in forming cocrystals, another drug molecule can be selected either for protecting another drug molecule or, can be selected for its complementary activities to kill a bacteria cell synergistically. The development of a multidrug cocrystal not only improves tabletability and plasticity but also enables the simultaneous delivery of multiple drugs to a specific bacterial cell, philosophically perfecting multidrug therapy. By adhering to the fundamental tenets of multidrug therapy, the synergistic effects of these drug molecules can effectively eradicate bacteria, even before they have the chance to develop resistance. This approach has the potential to shorten treatment periods, reduce costs, and mitigate drug resistance. Herein, four hypotheses are presented to create complementary drug cocrystals capable of simultaneously reaching bacterial cells, effectively destroying them before multidrug resistance can develop. The ongoing surge in the development of novel drugs provides another opportunity in the fight against bacteria that are constantly gaining resistance to existing treatments. This endeavour holds the potential to combat a wide array of multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Insights into structural, spectroscopic, and hydrogen bonding interaction patterns of nicotinamide-oxalic acid (form I) salt by using experimental and theoretical approaches

In the present work, nicotinamide-oxalic acid (NIC-OXA, form I) salt was crystallized by slow evaporation of an aqueous solution. To understand the molecular structure and spectroscopic properties of NIC after co-crystallization with OXA, experimental infrared (IR), Raman spectroscopic signatures, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques were used to characterize and validate the salt. The density functional theory (DFT) methodology was adopted to perform all theoretical calculations by using the B3LYP/6-311++G (d, p) functional/basis set. The experimental geometrical parameters were matched in good correlation with the theoretical parameters of the dimer than the monomer, due to the fact of covering the nearest hydrogen bonding interactions present in the crystal structure of the salt. The IR and Raman spectra of the dimer showed the red (downward) shifting and broadening of bands among (N15-H16), (N38-H39), and (C13=O14) bonds of NIC and (C26=O24), (C3=O1), and (C26=O25) groups of OXA, hence involved in the formation of NIC-OXA salt. The atoms in molecules (AIM) analysis revealed that (N8-H9···O24) is the strongest (conventional) intermolecular hydrogen bonding interaction in the dimer model of salt with the maximum value of interaction energy -12.1 kcal mol-1. Furthermore, the natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis of the Fock matrix showed that in the dimer model, the (N8-H9···O24) bond is responsible for the stabilization of the salt with an energy value of 13.44 kcal mol-1. The frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) analysis showed that NIC-OXA (form I) salt is more reactive and less stable than NIC, as the energy gap of NIC-OXA (form I) salt is less than that of NIC. The global and local reactivity descriptor parameters were calculated for the monomer and dimer models of the salt. The electrophilic, nucleophilic, and neutral reactive sites of NIC, OXA, monomer, and dimer models of salt were visualized by plotting the molecular electrostatic potential (MESP) surface. The study provides valuable insights into combining both experimental and theoretical results that could define the physicochemical properties of molecules.

Experimental and Quantum Chemical Studies of Nicotinamide-Oxalic Acid Salt: Hydrogen Bonding, AIM and NBO Analysis

The computational modeling supported with experimental results can explain the overall structural packing by predicting the hydrogen bond interactions present in any cocrystals (active pharmaceutical ingredients + coformer) as well as salts. In this context, the hydrogen bonding synthons, physiochemical properties (chemical reactivity and stability), and drug-likeliness behavior of proposed nicotinamide–oxalic acid (NIC–OXA) salt have been reported by using vibrational spectroscopic signatures (IR and Raman spectra) and quantum chemical calculations. The NIC–OXA salt was prepared by reactive crystallization method. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques were used for the characterization and validation of NIC–OXA salt. The spectroscopic signatures revealed that (N7–H8)/(N23–H24) of the pyridine ring of NIC, (C═O), and (C–O) groups of OXA were forming the intermolecular hydrogen bonding (N–H⋯O–C), (C–H⋯O═C), and (N–H⋯O═C), respectively, in NIC–OXA salt. Additionally, the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) showed that (C10–H22⋯O1) and (C26–H38⋯O4) are two unconventional hydrogen bonds present in NIC–OXA salt. Also, the natural bond orbital analysis was performed to find the charge transfer interactions and revealed the strongest hydrogen bonds (N7–H8⋯O5)/(N23–H24⋯O2) in NIC–OXA salt. The frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analysis suggested more reactivity and less stability of NIC–OXA salt in comparison to NIC–CA cocrystal and NIC. The global and local reactivity descriptors calculated and predicted that NIC–OXA salt is softer than NIC–CA cocrystal and NIC. From MESP of NIC–OXA salt, it is clear that electrophilic (N7–H8)/(N23–H24), (C6═O4)/(C3═O1) and nucleophilic (C10–H22)/(C26–H38), (C6–O5)/(C3–O2) reactive groups in NIC and OXA, respectively, neutralize after the formation of NIC–OXA salt, confirming the presence of hydrogen bonding interactions (N7–H8⋯O5–C6) and (N23–H24⋯O2–C3). Lipinski’s rule was applied to check the activeness of salt as an orally active form. The results shed light on several features of NIC–OXA salt that can further lead to the improvement in the physicochemical properties of NIC.

Synthesis and structural characteristic of pyridine carboxylic acid adducts with squaric acid

Squaric acid was used as a coformer to pyridine carboxylic acid cocrystallization. Adducts were obtained by evaporation from solution. Spectroscopic and theoretical studies were also performed. Thermal analysis reveals the high thermal stability of the obtained complexes.

Combined Computational/Experimental Investigation of new cocrystals of the drug bosentan

We report the discovery of new cocrystals of bosentan, a drug used in the treatment of pulmonary artery hypertension, with succinic acid, resorcinol and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid through a combined virtual/experimental...