Co-crystals comprising the active pharmaceutical ingredient 1,4-bis(4-pyridyl)-2,3-diaza-1,3-butadiene, C12H10N4, and the chiral co-formers (+)-, (-)- and (rac)-camphoric acid (cam), C10H16O4, have been synthesized. Two different stoichiometries of the API and co-former are obtained, namely 1:1 and 3:2. Crystallization experiments suggest that the 3:2 co-crystal is kinetically favoured over the 1:1 co-crystal. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of the co-crystals reveals N-H...O hydrogen bonding as the primary driving force for crystallization of the supramolecular structures. The 1:1 co-crystal contains undulating hydrogen-bonded ribbons, in which the chiral cam molecules impart a helical twist. The 3:2 co-crystal contains discrete Z-shaped motifs comprising three molecules of the API and two molecules of cam. The 3:2 co-crystals with (+)-cam, (-)-cam (space group P21) and (rac)-cam (space group P21/n) are isostructural. The enantiomeric co-crystals contain pseudo-symmetry consistent with space group P21/n, and the co-crystal with (rac)-cam represents a solid solution between the co-crystals containing (+)-cam and (-)-cam.
Keywords: active pharmaceutical ingredient; camphoric acid; co-crystal; crystal engineering; molecular adduct.