Use of in situ atomic force microscopy to follow phase changes at crystal surfaces in real time.

AFM of cocrystals: Atomic force microscopy can be used to observe phase changes at crystal surfaces where the transformation is accompanied by a change in the spacing between layers of molecules. The conversion of a metastable polymorph of the caffeine-glutaric acid cocrystal into the thermodynamically stable form was analyzed continuously in situ using intermittent-contact-mode atomic force microscopy.

New opportunities in crystal engineering--the role of atomic force microscopy in studies of molecular crystals.

Here, we highlight recent research involving atomic force microscopy investigations of molecular crystals, and focus particularly on the latest relevant advances in our knowledge of crystal-growth mechanisms and structure-property relationships in organic crystals. This brief survey features the importance of incorporating AFM into solid-state research as an essential tool for the informed design and construction of crystalline materials.

Mechanochemistry of magnesium oxide revisited: facile derivatisation of pharmaceuticals using coordination and supramolecular chemistry.

Liquid-assisted grinding allows the rapid, waste-free and one-pot synthesis of a variety of magnesium drug derivatives directly from the excipient MgO; such reactivity is relevant for the behaviour of ibuprofen formulations involving MgO and can be used for oxide-based mechanosynthesis of metal-organic salts, discrete complexes and carboxylate clusters involving magnesium and pharmaceutically active ingredients.