Small molecules crystallisation

From drug design to materials science, there is an increasing need to obtain the crystal structure of molecules in order to understand the properties of materials as well as in the development of structures with specific features. Moreover, control of crystal size and morphology is a key step for the development of industrial processes. At the Crystallisation Factory we offer two main crystallisation services depending on the nature of the problem:

• Crystallisation and X-Ray structure determination. This service includes solubility evaluation of the substance, crystallisation experiments to obtain single crystals, diffraction tests of the crystals obtained and structure determination by SCXRD.

• Crystalline quality optimisation. This service is for substances that either exhibit low crystallisability or poor diffraction patterns. It includes the optimisation of crystallisation experiments; diffraction tests of the crystals obtained and structure determination by SCXRD.

The Crystallisation Factory also offers complete scientific support to discover and characterize the most relevant polymorphs and cocrystals. Polymorphism, the ability of a chemical to crystallize in more than one crystalline phase, is a key issue in the pharmaceutical industry because different polymorphs can have different physico-chemical properties and influence the bioavailability of the pharmaceutical compound. Therefore, identifying the right polymorph/s is essential to patent strategy, as different polymorphs can give rise to independent IP claims. The relative stabilities of the different polymorphs must be known in order to avoid unwanted polymorph transformations during production of the active pharmaceutical ingredient or in the final pharmaceutical compound. In addition, the development of novel pharmaceutical cocrystals is an excellent strategy to improve the solid state properties of an API, especially when salts do not have the appropriate solid state properties or cannot be formed due to the absence of ionizable sites in the API.

• Screening and characterisation of polymorphs. It includes both the screening of polymorphs and phase identification by PXRD. In cases where single crystals are obtained, the structure will also be determined by SCXRD.

• Screening and characterisation of polymorphs. It includes both the screening of cocrystals and phase identification by PXRD. In cases where single crystals are obtained, the structure will also be determined by SCXRD.

For a quote on any of the services described above, please contact us at lafactoria@lec.csic.es.