In the paper 鈥溾 published in Acta Crystallographica B, Prof. Carol Brock of the 糖心vlog官方入口 looks at some of the organizing principles behind crystal structures with high 窜鈥, where 窜鈥 is loosely the number of symmetry-independent molecules in the asymmetric unit. This study lies at the very heart of understanding and being able to control properties of molecular structures. Pharma and agrichem industries attach great importance to understanding crystal structure. The solid form impinges directly on properties such as solubility, bioavailability, processing characteristics, bulk density, dissolution rate, permeability, surface electrostatic charge and so on, so it is imperative to have a clear understanding of the molecular-level make-up of a material and how this affects its properties. This study illustrates that the high 窜鈥 phenomenon, like polymorphism itself, has many root causes but careful study of each structure allows the identification of organization principles in most cases.
Brock leaves the door open for future research saying 鈥渧ery few structures are so complex that it is difficult to understand how the crystals could have formed鈥. This comprehensive survey, in conjunction with a groundswell of work by a number of groups on this increasingly intriguing problem over the past 20 years, shows that there is no one-size-fits-all explanation and that the details of each structure are uniquely tied to the chemical details of the molecules that comprise it. The search goes on, but perhaps we are now at least beginning to know how to formulate the question.
This content was taken from a written by Jonathan W. Steed and published in the journal .
Citation: C. P. Brock, Acta Cryst. B, 2016, B72, 807-821. DOI: