The Role of Lattice Matching Techniques in the Characterization of Polymorphic Forms
An inspection of the recent literature reveals that polymorphism is a frequently encountered phenomenon. The recognition of polymorphic forms plays a vital role in the materials sciences because such structures are characterized by different crystal packing and accordingly have different physical properties. In the pharmaceutical industry, recognition of polymorphic forms can be critical for, in certain cases, a polymorphic form of a drug may be an ineffective therapeutic agent due to its unfavorable physical properties. A check of the recent literature has revealed that in some cases new polymorphic forms are not recognized. In other instances, a supposedly new polymeric form is actually the result of an incorrect structure determination. Fortunately, lattice-matching techniques, which have proved invaluable in the identification and characterization of crystal structures, represent a powerful tool for analyzing polymorphic forms. These lattice-matching methods are based on either of two strategies: (a) the reduced cell strategy–the matching of reduced cells of the respective lattices or (b) the matrix strategy–the determination of a matrix or matrices relating the two lattices coupled with an analysis of the matrix elements. Herein, these techniques are applied to three typical cases–(a) the identification of a new polymorphic form, (b) the demonstration that a substance may not be a new polymorphic form due to missed symmetry, and (c) the evaluation of pseudo polymorphism because of a missed lattice. To identify new polymorphic forms and to prevent errors, it is recommended that these lattice matching techniques become an integral part of the editorial review process of crystallography journals.
Setting ambiguity in C2/c with dibromidotetrakis(1H-pyrazole-kappaN2)manganese(II) as an example.
trans-Dibromidotetrakis(1H-pyrazole-kappaN(3))manganese(II), [MnBr2(C3H4N2)4], crystallizes in the C2/c space group with the Mn atom located on a centre of inversion. As a result, there is just one half-molecule in the asymmetric unit. Geometric parameters are in the usual ranges. The Mn centre is octahedrally coordinated by four pyrazole residues in the equatorial plane and by two bromide ligands in the axial positions. The molecular conformation is stabilized by N-H...Br hydrogen bonds. The structure of the title compound had already been described [Lumme & Lindell (1987). J. Coord. Chem. 15, 383-392] in a different setting, with the Mn atoms located on inversion centres on Wyckoff position d (1/4, 1/4, 1/2; 3/4, 1/4, 0; 3/4, 3/4, 1/2; 1/4, 3/4, 0). In the conventional setting, however, the Mn atoms are situated on Wyckoff position a (0, 0, 0; 0, 0, 1/2; 1/2, 1/2, 0; 1/2, 1/2, 1/2). In this special case, if the c axis has the same length as the short diagonal of the ac plane, the transformation from one setting into the other yields almost indistinguishable cell parameters, and the possibility of confusion arises. This setting ambiguity could be the reason why two structures in different settings might be taken as polymorphs even though they can easily be transformed. As a result of this, care should always be taken to use the conventional setting.
l-Phenylalanine dehydrogenase from Brevibacterium sp. for production of l-phenylalanine by reductive amination of phenylpyruvate
SummaryFor production of l-phenylalanine the reductive amination of phenylpyruvate, catalyzed by phenylalanine-dehydrogenase was examined. To reach high levels and a sufficient stability of the inducible intracellular enzyme, growth conditions of Brevibacterium sp. are optimized. For continuous production of l-phenylalanine in an enzyme membrane reactor, the kinetic parameters of the partially purified enzyme are determined.In continuous production a space time yield of 37.4 g l-Phe l-1 d-1 can be reached.By means of the measured kinetic parameters and simultaneous calculation of the mass balances of all reaction components the behaviour of the reactor can be simulated. For certain conditions the multi-enzyme-system shows multiple steady-states.