Predicting crystal form stability under real-world conditions.

The physicochemical properties of molecular crystals, such as solubility, stability, compactability, melting behaviour and bioavailability, depend on their crystal form1. In silico crystal form selection has recently come much closer to realization because of the development of accurate and affordable free-energy calculations2-4. Here we redefine the state of the art, primarily by improving the accuracy of free-energy calculations, constructing a reliable experimental benchmark for solid-solid free-energy differences, quantifying statistical errors for the computed free energies and placing both hydrate crystal structures of different stoichiometries and anhydrate crystal structures on the same energy landscape, with defined error bars, as a function of temperature and relative humidity. The calculated free energies have standard errors of 1-2 kJ mol-1 for industrially relevant compounds, and the method to place crystal structures with different hydrate stoichiometries on the same energy landscape can be extended to other multi-component systems, including solvates. These contributions reduce the gap between the needs of the experimentalist and the capabilities of modern computational tools, transforming crystal structure prediction into a more reliable and actionable procedure that can be used in combination with experimental evidence to direct crystal form selection and establish control5.

Experimental and simulated distribution and interaction of water in cellulose esters with alkyl chain substitutions.

This study investigated the effect of the average length of substituted side chains in different cellulose esters on water sorption and the water association mechanism. For this purpose, a set of esters with a similar total degree of substitution was selected: cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate propionate, and cellulose acetate butyrate. Dynamic vapor sorption was used to determine the effect of the side chain length on sorption, desorption, and the occurrence of water clustering. Since water association in the structure was of interest, molecular dynamics simulations were performed on cellulose acetate and cellulose acetate propionate. This study showed that cellulose acetate appears to be water-sensitive and experiences hysteresis upon water sorption, which was attributed to structural changes. The simulations also showed that water is screened out by the side chains and forms intermolecular hydrogen bonds, primarily to the carbonyl oxygen rather than the residual hydroxyl groups.

Late-stage synthesis of heterobifunctional molecules for PROTAC applications via ruthenium-catalysed C‒H amidation.

PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (PROTACs) are heterobifunctional molecules emerging as a powerful modality in drug discovery, with the potential to address outstanding medical challenges. However, the synthetic feasibility of PROTACs, and the empiric and complex nature of their structure-activity relationships continue to present formidable limitations. As such, modular and reliable approaches to streamline the synthesis of these derivatives are highly desirable. Here, we describe a robust ruthenium-catalysed late-stage C‒H amidation strategy, to access fully elaborated heterobifunctional compounds. Using readily available dioxazolone reagents, a broad range of inherently present functional groups can guide the C-H amidation on complex bioactive molecules. High selectivity and functional group tolerance enable the late-stage installation of linkers bearing orthogonal functional handles for downstream elaboration. Finally, the single-step synthesis of both CRBN and biotin conjugates is demonstrated, showcasing the potential of this methodology to provide efficient and sustainable access to advanced therapeutics and chemical biology tools.

Designing Selective Drug-like Molecular Glues for the Glucocorticoid Receptor/14-3-3 Protein-Protein Interaction.

The ubiquitously expressed glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is a nuclear receptor that controls a broad range of biological processes and is activated by steroidal glucocorticoids such as hydrocortisone or dexamethasone. Glucocorticoids are used to treat a wide variety of conditions, from inflammation to cancer but suffer from a range of side effects that motivate the search for safer GR modulators. GR is also regulated outside the steroid-binding site through protein-protein interactions (PPIs) with 14-3-3 adapter proteins. Manipulation of these PPIs will provide insights into noncanonical GR signaling as well as a new level of control over GR activity. We report the first molecular glues that selectively stabilize the 14-3-3/GR PPI using the related nuclear receptor estrogen receptor α (ERα) as a selectivity target to drive design. These 14-3-3/GR PPI stabilizers can be used to dissect noncanonical GR signaling and enable the development of novel atypical GR modulators.

Improving mechanical properties of desloratadine via multicomponent crystal formation.

We report the first multicomponent crystal of desloratadine, an important anti-histamine drug, with a pharmaceutically acceptable coformer of benzoic acid. The single crystal structure analysis revealed that this novel multicomponent crystal is categorized as salt due to the proton transfer from benzoic acid to the desloratadine molecule. By forming the salt multicomponent crystal, we demonstrated that the tabletability and plasticity of the multicomponent crystal was improved from the parent drug. In addition, neither capping nor lamination tendency was observed in the desloratadine-benzoic acid multicomponent crystal. The existence of a layered structure and slip planes are proposed to be associated with this improvement. The desloratadine-benzoate in this case shows an improved solubility in water and HCl 0.1N media and a better dissolution profile in water. However, the dissolution rate in HCl 0.1N media was found to be essentially indifference.

Epalrestat tetra-hydro-furan monosolvate: crystal structure and phase transition.

The title compound, epalrestat {systematic name: (5Z)-5-[(2E)-2-methyl-3-phenyl-prop-2-en-1-yl-idene]-4-oxo-2-sulfanyl-idene-1,3-thia-zolidine-3-acetic acid}, crystallized as a tetra-hydro-furan monosolvate, C15H13NO3S2·C4H8O. Epalrestat, an important drug for diabetic neuropathy, has been reported to exist in polymphic, solvated and co-crystal forms. In the mol-ecule reported here, the phenyl ring is inclined to the rhodamine ring by 22.31 (9)°, and the acetic acid group is almost normal to the rhodamine ring, making a dihedral angle of 88.66 (11)°. In the crystal, pairs of O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds are observed between the carb-oxy-lic acid groups of epalerstat mol-ecules, forming inversion dimers with an R22(8) loop. The dimers are linked by pairs of C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains along [101]. The solvate mol-ecules are linked to the chain by a C-H⋯O(tetra-hydro-furan) hydrogen bond. A combination of thermal analysis and powder X-ray diffraction revealed that title compound desolvated into epalerstat Form II. One C atom of the tetra-hydro-furan solvate mol-ecule is positionally disordered and has a refined occupancy ratio of 0.527 (18):0.473 (18).

A new solvate of epalerstat, a drug for diabetic neuropathy.

Epalerstat {systematic name: (5Z)-5-[(2E)-2-methyl-3-phenyl-prop-2-en-1-yl-idene]-4-oxo-2-sulfanyl-idene-1,3-thia-zolidine-3-acetic acid} crystallized as an acetone monosolvate, C15H13NO3S2·C3H6O. In the epalerstat mol-ecule, the methyl-propyl-enediene moiety is inclined to the phenyl ring and the five-membered rhodamine ring by 21.4 (4) and 4.7 (4)°, respectively. In addition, the acetic acid moiety is found to be almost normal to the rhodamine ring, making a dihedral angle of 85.1 (2)°. In the crystal, a pair of O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the carb-oxy-lic acid groups of epalerstat mol-ecules form inversion dimers with an R22(8) loop. The dimers are linked by pairs of C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, enclosing R22(20) loops, forming chains propagating along the [101] direction. In addition, the acetone mol-ecules are linked to the chain by a C-H⋯O hydrogen bond. Epalerstat acetone monosolvate was found to be isotypic with epalerstat tertra-hydro-furan solvate [Umeda et al. (2017 ▸). Acta Cryst. E73, 941-944].