Can the study of self-assembly in solution lead to a good model for the nucleation pathway? The case of tolfenamic acid

To further our understanding of the role of solution chemistry in directing nucleation processes new experimental and computational data are presented on the solution and crystallisation chemistry of tolfenamic acid (TA), a benchmark polymorphic compound. With these, and previously published data, we were able to establish that TA is rapidly fluctuating between conformers in solution with either solvated monomers or dimers present depending on the solvent. Hence, despite the fact that conformational polymorphs can be obtained from crystallisations in ethanol, we found no links between solution chemistry and crystallisation outcomes. We discuss the implications of these conclusions for the nature of the nucleation pathway via dimers and clusters and raise experimental questions about how best to undertake relevant crystallisation studies

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Acid-base crystalline complexes and the pK(a) rule

Differences in the predicted aqueous pKa values (ΔpKa) have been calculated for 6465 crystalline complexes containing ionised and non-ionised acid-base pairs in the Cambridge Structural Database. A linear relationship between ΔpKa and the probability of proton transfer between acid-base pairs has been derived for crystalline complexes with ΔpKa between −1 and 4. The pKa rule is validated and quantitated

Geometry and conformation of cyclopropane derivatives having s-acceptor and s-donor substituents: a theoretical and crystal structure database study

The structures of cyclopropane rings which carry σ-acceptor or σ-donor substituents have been studied using density-functional theory (DFT), and mean bond lengths and conformational parameters retrieved from the Cambridge Structural Database. It is confirmed that σ-acceptor substituents, e.g. halogens, generate positive ring bond-length asymmetry in which there is lengthening of the distal bond (opposite to the point of substitution), and shorterning of the two vicinal bonds. This is due to withdrawal of electron density from the cyclopropane 1e′′ orbitals, which are bonding for the distal bond and antibonding for the vicinal bonds. For σ-donor substituents such as SiH3 or Si(CH3)3, the DFT and crystal structure data show negative ring bond-length asymmetry (distal bond shortened, vicinal bonds lengthened), owing to electron donation into the 4e′ ring orbital, which are also bonding for the distal bond and antibonding for the vicinal bonds. The results also show that —OH substituents induce weak positive asymmetry, but that the effects of methyl or amino substituents are either non-existent or extremely small, certainly too small to measure using crystal structure information

Observed and predicted hydrogen bond motifs in crystal structures of hydantoins, dihydrouracils and uracils

A survey of crystal structures containing hydantoin, dihydrouracil and uracil derivatives in the Cambridge Structural Database revealed four main types of hydrogen bond motifs when derivatives with extra substituents able to interfere with the main motif are excluded. All these molecules contain two hydrogen bond donors and two hydrogen bond acceptors in the sequence of NH, CO, NH, and CO groups within a 5-membered ring (hydantoin) and two 6-membered rings (dihydrouracil and uracil). In all cases, both ring NH groups act as donors in the main hydrogen bond motif but there is an excess of hydrogen bond acceptors (two CO able to accept twice each) and so two possibilities are found: (i) each carbonyl O atom may accept one hydrogen bond or (ii) one carbonyl O atom may accept two hydrogen bonds while the other does not participate in the hydrogen bonding. We observed different preferences in the type and symmetry of the motifs adopted by the different derivatives, and a good agreement is found between motifs observed experimentally and those predicted using computational methods. We identified certain molecular factors such as chirality, substituent size and the possibility of C-HO interactions as important factors influencing the motif observation

Systematic conformational bias in small-molecule crystal structures is rare and explicable

Analysis of the Cambridge Structural Database, together with DFT and crystal structure prediction calculations, show that the observation of higher-energy planar conformers of biphenyl (BP) and cyclobutane (CB) is possible because of improved intermolecular interactions in their crystal structures. Such intermolecular/intramolecular energy compensation almost always occurs when crystallographic and molecular symmetry elements coincide. For BP and CB, almost exclusively, a crystallographic inversion centre coincides with a centre of symmetry in a Ci-symmetric molecule. We conclude that the observation of higher energy conformers (with the compensation of conformational energies up to ≈8-10 kJ.mol.−1 above the global minimum) together with this symmetry coincidence is rare. The work shows that concerns, expressed by some drug discovery chemists and other scientists, that conformations observed in crystal structures are systematically biased due to ‘crystal packing effects’ is overstated: only 16% of BP and CB fragments are exactly planar in small-molecule crystal structures, while the remaining conformations are close to their gas-phase energy minima. Thus, crystal structure conformations are good guides to conformational preferences in other phases and in other applications, e.g. in conformer generation or in the study of protein-ligand binding