We report formation of polymorphs and new eutectics and cocrystals of curcumin, a sparingly water-soluble active component in turmeric, structurally similar to cinnamic acid. The curcumin polymorphs were formed using liquid antisolvent precipitation, where acetone acted as a solvent and water was used as the antisolvent. The metastable form 2 of curcumin was successfully prepared in varied morphology over a wide range of solvent-to-antisolvent ratio and under acidic pH conditions. We also report formation of new eutectics and cocrystals of curcumin with cinnamic acid acting as a coformer. The binary phase diagrams were studied using differential scanning calorimetry and predicted formation of the eutectics at the curcumin mole fraction of 0.15 and 0.33, whereas a cocrystal was formed at 0.3 mole fraction of curcumin in the curcumin-cinnamic acid mixture. The formation of the cocrystal was supported with X-ray powder diffraction, the enthalpy of fusion values, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The hydrogen bond interaction between curcumin and cinnamic acid was predicted from Fourier-transform infrared spectra, individually optimized curcumin and cinnamic acid structures by quantum mechanical calculations using Gaussian-09 and their respective unit cell packing structures.
Keywords: antisolvent precipitation; cinnamic acid; cocrystal; curcumin; eutectic; polymorphs.
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