the terms “ treat ,” “ treating ” and “ treatment ,” as used herein includes prophylactic , palliative treatment , or restorative treatment . the term “ effective amount ” means a dose conducive to treatment . an effective amount may be administered in a single dose , or in divided doses over a period of time . the term “ spherulitic ” means taking the approximate form of a spherulite . the term “ spherulite ” means an ubiquitous form of crystal aggregate , occurring in a wide range of different materials , characterised by radial growth leading to spherical symmetry . also embraced within this invention is a class of pharmaceutical compositions comprising crystalline ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid hydrochloride in association with one or more non - toxic , pharmaceutically - acceptable carriers and / or diluents and / or adjuvants ( collectively referred to herein as “ carrier ” materials ) and , if desired , other active ingredients . the crystalline form of ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid hydrochloride of the present invention may be administered by any suitable route , preferably in the form of a pharmaceutical composition adapted to such a route , and in a dose effective for the treatment intended . the active ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid hydrochloride and compositions may , for example , be administered orally , intravascularly , intraperitoneally , subcutaneously , intramuscularly or topically . for oral administration , the pharmaceutical composition may be in the form of , for example , a tablet , capsule , suspension or liquid . the pharmaceutical composition is preferably made in the form of a dosage unit containing a particular amount of the active ingredient . examples of such dosage units are tablets or capsules . the active ingredient may also be administered by injection as a composition wherein , for example , saline , dextrose or water may be used as a suitable carrier . the amount of therapeutically active compound that is administered and the dosage regimen for treating a disease condition with the compound and / or compositions of this invention depends on a variety of factors , including the age , weight , sex and medical condition of the subject , the severity of the disease , the route and frequency of administration , and the particular compound employed , and thus may vary widely . the pharmaceutical compositions may contain active ingredients in the range of about 0 . 1 to 2000 mg , preferably in the range of about 0 . 5 to 500 mg and most preferably between about 1 and 100 mg . a daily dose of about 0 . 01 to 100 mg / kg body weight , preferably between about 0 . 5 and about 20 mg / kg body weight and most preferably between about 0 . 1 to 10 mg / kg body weight , may be appropriate . the daily dose can be administered in one to four doses per day . crystalline ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid hydrochloride can also be administered by a transdermal device . preferably topical administration will be accomplished using a patch either of the reservoir and porous membrane type or of a solid matrix variety . in either case , the active agent is delivered continuously from the reservoir or microcapsules through a membrane into the active agent permeable adhesive , which is in contact with the skin or mucosa of the recipient . if the active agent is absorbed through the skin , a controlled and predetermined flow of the active agent is administered to the recipient . in the case of microcapsules , the encapsulating agent may also function as the membrane . the oily phase of the emulsions of this invention may be constituted from known ingredients in a known manner . while the phase may comprise merely an emulsifier , it may comprise a mixture of at least one emulsifier with a fat or an oil or with both a fat and an oil . preferably , a hydrophilic emulsifier is included together with a lipophilic emulsifier which acts as a stabilizer . it is also preferred to include both an oil and a fat . together , the emulsifier ( s ) with or without stabilizer ( s ) make - up the so - called emulsifying wax , and the wax together with the oil and fat make up the so - called emulsifying ointment base which forms the oily dispersed phase of the cream formulations . emulsifiers and emulsion stabilizers suitable for use in the formulation of the present invention include tween 60 , span 80 , cetostearyl alcohol , myristyl alcohol , glyceryl monostearate , and sodium lauryl sulfate , among others . the choice of suitable oils or fats for the formulation is based on achieving the desired cosmetic properties , since the solubility of the active compound in most oils likely to be used in pharmaceutical emulsion formulations is very low . thus , the cream should preferably be a non - greasy , non - staining and washable product with suitable consistency to avoid leakage from tubes or other containers . straight or branched chain , mono - or dibasic alkyl esters such as di - isoadipate , isocetyl stearate , propylene glycol diester of coconut fatty acids , isopropyl myristate , decyl oleate , isopropyl palmitate , butyl stearate , 2 - ethylhexyl palmitate or a blend of branched chain esters may be used . these may be used alone or in combination depending on the properties required . alternatively , high melting point lipids such as white soft paraffin and / or liquid paraffin or other mineral oils can be used . formulations suitable for topical administration to the eye also include eye drops wherein the active ingredients are dissolved or suspended in suitable carrier , especially an aqueous solvent for the active ingredients . the antiinflammatory active ingredients are preferably present in such formulations in a concentration of 0 - 5 to 20 %, advantageously 0 . 5 to 10 % and particularly about 1 . 5 % w / w . for therapeutic purposes , crystalline ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid hydrochloride is ordinarily combined with one or more adjuvants appropriate to the indicated route of administration . if administered per os , the compound may be admixed with lactose , sucrose , starch powder , cellulose esters of alkanoic acids , cellulose alkyl esters , talc , stearic acid , magnesium stearate , magnesium oxide , sodium and calcium salts of phosphoric and sulfuric acids , gelatin , acacia gum , sodium alginate , polyvinylpyrrolidone , and / or polyvinyl alcohol , and then tableted or encapsulated for convenient administration . such capsules or tablets may contain a controlled - release formulation as may be provided in a dispersion of active compound in hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose . formulations for parenteral administration may be in the form of aqueous or non - aqueous isotonic sterile injection solutions or suspensions . these solutions and suspensions may be prepared from sterile powders or granules having one or more of the carriers or diluents mentioned for use in the formulations for oral administration . the crystalline form b may be dissolved in water , polyethylene glycol , propylene glycol , ethanol , corn oil , cottonseed oil , peanut oil , sesame oil , benzyl alcohol , sodium chloride , and / or various buffers . other adjuvants and modes of administration are well and widely known in the pharmaceutical art . the amorphous form of ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid hydrochloride may be prepared in accordance with the general scheme shown below : ex - 1a ) ( z )- 5 - t - butyldimethylsilyloxy - 2 - penten - 1 - ol ( ex - 1a ) was prepared from 5 , 5 - dihydro - 2 - pyrone ( aldrich ) by the method of harold , mohr and tamm helvetica chimica acta 66 , 2 , 1983 744 - 754 . ex - 1b ) to a solution of ex - 1a ( 720 mg , 3 . 3 mmol ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 25 ml ) was added et 3 n ( 525 mg , 5 . 3 mmol ) and methanesulfonyl chloride ( 561 mg , 4 . 90 mmol ). the reaction mixture was stirred for 15 min at 0 ° c . then at room temperature for 16 h . additional ch 2 cl 2 was added , the solution was extracted with nahco 3 , brine and dried to yield 790 mg of a yellow oil . the oil was dissolved in dmf ( 20 ml ), and ( 513 mg , 3 . 7 mmol ) was added . the resulting solution was stirred at 50 ° c . for 16 h . the solvent was removed in vacuo and the residue partitioned between etoac and brine . the organic layer was dried ( na2so4 ) and concentrated to yield an oil which was purified by flash column chromatography on silica gel eluting with ether : hexane ( 1 : 1 ) to give 780 mg g ( 79 %) of the desired protected z - allytic cyclic amidine product as a clear oil , that contained only the desired z - isomer by 1 hnmr . evaporated to give 80 mg ( quant .) of the desired alcohol product as a clear colorless oil . ex - 1d ) to a ch 2 cl 2 ( 3 ml ) solution of ex - 1c ( 80 mg , 0 . 43 mmol ) was added et3n ( 44 mg ) and triflic anhydride ( 146 mg , 0 . 52 mmol ) at 0 ° c ., the mixture was stirred for 1 . 5 h . the solution was concentrated in vacuo . and to the resulting yellow slurry was added a ch 2 cl 2 ( 1 . 5 ml ) solution of ex - 2d ( 0 . 15 g , 0 . 74 mmol ). the crude material was purified by flash column chromatography on silica gel eluting with etoac : hexane ( 1 : 1 ) to give 62 mg ( 44 %) of the desired triflate product as a clear oil . ex - 1e ) to a thf ( 10 ml ) solution of ( 2s , 4s )- 3 - benzoyl - 2 - t - butyl - 4 - methyl - 1 , 3 - oxazolidin - 5 - one ( ref .) ( 532 mg , 2 . 04 mmol ) at − 78 ° c . was added khmds ( 4 . 48 ml , 2 . 2 mmol , 0 . 5 m in thf ). the resulting orange colored solution was stirred for 15 min . followed by the addition of ex - 1d ( 580 mg , 1 . 8 mmol ). the resulting solution was allowed to warm to room temperature followed by the addition of khso 4 ( 10 %, 1 . 5 ml ) brine and etoac . the organic layer was separated , dried and concentrated in vacuo to yield 960 mg of a yellow oil . the crude material was purified by flash column chromatography on silica gel eluting with etoac : hexane ( 1 : 1 ) to give 138 mg ( 18 %) of the desired alkylated product as a clear oil . ex - 1 ) to a methanol ( 10 ml ) solution of ex - 1e ( 138 mg , 0 . 32 mmol ) was added lindlar catalyst ( 260 mg ). the stirred slurry was refluxed for 2 hours , then cooled to room temperature . the catalyst was removed by filtration through celite , and the filtrate was stripped to give the desired deprotected amidine product as a pale yellow oil . a solution of the yellow oil in hcl ( 6n , 10 ml ) was refluxed for 1 . 75 hours . the solvent was removed in vacuo , and the resulting foam was purified by reverse - phase hplc eluting with a 30 minute gradient of 0 - 40 % ch 3 cn / h 2 o ( 0 . 25 % acetic acid ). fractions containing product were combined and concentrated to a foam . the product was dissolved in 1 n hcl and the solvent removed in vacuo ( 2 ×) to give 34 mg ( 20 %) of the desired ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 2 - methyl - 7 -[( 1 - iminoethyl ) amino ]- 5 - heptenoic acid , dihydrochloride product . ms calcd . for c 10 h 19 n 3 o 2 : m / z = 214 [ m + h ] + , found : 214 . ( 100 %) 1 h nmr ( d 2 o ) δ 1 . 40 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 5 - 2 . 0 ( m , 4h ) 1 . 90 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 55 ( m , 2h ) 5 . 15 - 5 . 25 ( m , vinyl , 1h ), 5 . 30 - 5 . 45 ( m , vinyl , 1h ). table i analysis material name : ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid ( hcl salt . hydrate ) appearance colorless to off - colorless glass / gum identity by lc - ms conforms to ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid by mass 214 ( electrospray +) assay by lc - ms ( by uv ) & gt ; 99 % - contains co - eluting overreduced 2s )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylheptanoic acid hydrochloride impurities by lc - ms ( by uv ) 2 . 5 % overreduced ( 2s )- 2 - amino - 7 - ( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylheptanoic acid hydrochloride single other impurity ( by ratio of ms channel integrals ) none detectable conforms to standard dentity by chiral lc ( by uv ) & gt ; 99 . 9 % chiral purity ( s - isomer ) assay by chiral lc ( by uv ) 94 . 62 % chemical purity of ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 - ( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid 1 . 73 % overreduced ( 2s )- 2 - amino - 7 - ( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylheptanoic acid hydrochloride single other impurity by chiral none detected lc conforms to structure of ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 - ( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid identity by 1 h - nmr ( d 2 o ) purity by 1 h - nmr ( d 2 o ) 98 % chemical purity of ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 - ( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid impurity by 1 h - nmr ( d 2 o ) 1 % of overreduced species ( 2s )- 2 - amino - 7 - ( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylheptanoic acid hydrochloride 1 % of bond - migrated species residual tfa (% w / w ) not detected ( limit of quantitation is 50 ppm ) metal analysis pb & lt ; 1 mg / kg pd & lt ; 2 mg / kg ni 1 . 8 mg / kg fe 18 . 7 mg / kg elemental analysis calc . c : 35 . 28 h : 7 . 55 n : 12 . 34 cl : 26 . 03 found c : 34 . 97 h : 7 . 41 n : 12 . 33 cl : 24 . 07 -& gt ; 2 . 5 hcl 2 h 2 o ( note : material appears to be hygroscopic - elemental analysis reflects water content at time of analysis .) amorphate ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid , with excess hydrochloride , is freely soluble in water , methanol and ethanol , and soluble in isopropanol and various solvents containing water such as 10 % water in thf , water saturated ethyl acetate , 10 % water in acetonitrile and higher alcohols with water . the amorphate is insoluble at significantly less than one mg / ml in the dry solvents tested : acetone , mek , methyl isobutyl ketone , thf , ethyl acetate , chloroform , methylene chloride , hexanes , cylcohexane , di - isopropyl ether , acetonitrile and toluene . about 460 mg of ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid was dissolved in 10 ml of hplc grade water . amberlite ira400 ion exchange resin that had been converted from the chloride form to the hydroxide form was used to titrate the solution of ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid to ph 10 . 7 . a chloride selective electrode indicated chloride was reduced to 200 ppm . this solution was filtered through a millipore 5 μm ls membrane and the solution was lyophilized . elemental analysis of the freeze dried solid , table ii , indicated chloride was reduced to 0 . 25 equivalents , which was consistent with the 200 ppm ion selective electrode reading . table ii elemental analysis results : measured by combustion analysis vs . theory ; weight percent . element theory 0 hcl theory 0 . 25 hcl measured ( duplicate ) carbon 56 . 3 51 . 96 52 . 47 / 52 . 06 hydrogen 8 . 98 8 . 72 8 . 89 / 8 . 96 nitrogen 19 . 7 18 . 18 18 . 16 / 17 . 96 chlorine 0 3 . 83 3 . 98 hydrochloride salt , ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid was dissolved in water , various low alcohols , thf - water , acetonitrile - water and water saturated ethyl acetate to obtain concentrated solutions . the antisolvents listed above were used to force the salt from solution . liquid — liquid phase outs , emulsions and glassy precipitates were obtained in all cases . vapor diffusion cells were also set up with a few systems as well , producing exclusively emulsion phase outs . a sample of hydrochloride salt was rotary evaporated , dissolved , lyophilized and allowed to stand for four to six weeks in a fume hood . this sample began to spontaneously change . polarized light microscopy was used to show that crystallization was occurring . nearly half of the volume of sample became discolored and never did crystallize , but nearly half did crystallize . some of the material was used as seeds in a number of crystallization experiments , with various solvents , to obtain more crystalline material from ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid hydrochloride . very little if any crystallization occurred and then only very slowly . crystals from each lot were examined by polarized light microscopy for evidence of polymorphism . the crystal habit and optical properties remained consistent to one form . crystals from each lot were biaxial , exhibited a face of high birefringence and a face of low birefringence n 1 - n 2 & lt ; 0 . 006 , with optic axes emerging from the low birefringence face . no evidence of solvation was noted by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy sem / eds or hot stage polarized light microscopy . the eutectic melt of the crystals ; with the discolored oily phase which could not be completely removed without also dissolving the crystals ; was about 210 ° c . several large crystals were isolated from a first sample for structural determination . the stoichiometry of the unit cell was determined to be : two independent molecules of ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid and three hcl &# 39 ; s . no solvation was observed . the space group was p1 ( triclinic ) and the unit cell a = 8 . 1623 , b = 9 . 0524 , c = 10 . 5937 , alpha = 71 . 522 , beta = 73 . 472 , gamma = 86 . 086 . the absolute configuration of 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid was confirmed to be “ s ”. about 1 . 5 g of ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid , ( 2 . 5 hcl × 2 . 0 h 2 o ) was dissolved in 5 . 0 ml h 2 o and amberlite oh resin was added to titrate to ph 7 , as measured with a ph electrode and meter . the solution was filtered through a 5 μm ls millipore filter and lyophilized to yield 903 mg of the monohydrochloride salt . the lyophilized material was virtually dissolved in 6 . 0 ml of isopropanol containing 0 . 38 % h 2 o followed by the addition of hcl ( 150 μl , 12 m ) to form the sesquihydrochloride . this mixture was vortexed and sonicated then allowed to stir overnight at room temperature to ensure saturation and equilibrium . seed crystals were then added ( about 0 . 1 mg ) and stirring continued . crystallization was noted to begin within minutes and appeared to be substantial within 3 hours . the solution was stirred at room temperature for 48 hours . the crystals were collected by filtration , washed with a small volume of isopropanol and vacuum dried at 40 ° c . overnight to yield 860 mg , 89 % of theory , of white solid . it will be appreciated that “ seeding ” a solution of ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid may initiate or increase nucleation under the described conditions . crystals are available from pharmacia corporation , 4901 searle parkway , skokie , ill ., usa 60077 . two similar experiments were conducted . a few hundred milligrams of ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid were dissolved to approximately the same concentration in isopropanol as the lyophilized material in the previous experiment . the hydrochloride concentration was not adjusted . this system was seeded and stirred at ambient temperature . no crystallization was observed . in the next experiment the ph of the solution was adjusted with concentrated sodium hydroxide to about ph 3 and seeded . some crystalline product was obtained , but the yield was only about 30 to 40 %. addition of ether increased the yield to near 90 %. the solid 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid 1 . 5 hcl was crystalline by polarized light microscopy and the crystallite size was on the order of one micrometer . the agglomerated particles were spherulitic . elemental analysis of 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid 1 . 5 hcl by physical methodology provided a very tight correspondence with theory for a 1 . 5 hcl salt with no solvation , see table iii . coulometric karl fischer water analysis found 0 . 6 % water , 0 . 09 equivalents , from an average of two measurements . table iii elemental analysis results of 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid 1 . 5 hcl measured by combustion analysis vs . theory ; weight percent . element measured ( duplicate ) theory 1 . 5 hcl carbon 44 . 56 / 44 . 57 44 . 82 hydrogen 7 . 87 / 7 . 93 7 . 71 nitrogen 15 . 58 / 15 . 60 15 . 68 chlorine 19 . 61 / 19 . 68 19 . 85 polarized light microscopy of ( 2s , 5z )- 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid 1 . 5 hcl found refractive indices n d α 1 . 508 , β approximately 1 . 59 , γ1 . 608 , a negative optic sign and 2v near 37 degrees . strong dispersion of the optic axes were apparent in the interference figures . differential scanning calorimetry ( dsc ) found a single melt at 224 ° c . and a heat of fusion of 147 joules grams − 1 . ( see fig2 ). [ 0081 ] fig3 shows the powder x - ray pattern of 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid 1 . 5 hcl . referring to fig4 the calculated x - ray powder pattern from the single crystal structure overlayed with the powder x - ray pattern of 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid 1 . 5 hcl agree very well , with allowance for the temperature difference . the single crystal data was collected at 120 ° k . and the powder x - ray data at ambient . no mass loss was observed by thermogravimetric analysis ( tga ) to the initiation of melt ( see fig5 ). a loss of 0 . 47 % was noted during melting by tga . the crystalline 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid 1 . 5 hcl is nonhygroscopic at and below 70 % relative humidity . moisture sorption of 2 - amino - 7 -( ethanimidoylamino )- 2 - methylhept - 5 - enoic acid 1 . 5 hcl at 25 ° c ., by dvs moisture balance , showed a moisture gain of 0 . 91 % at 70 % relative humidity ( r . h .). at 80 % r . h . the gain was 18 . 5 %, and at 90 % r . h . the gain was 76 . 8 %. the instrument cycled back to low relative humidity and the sample was removed then examined by polarized light microscopy . the sample was fully crystalline after removal from the moisture balance , but the crystallite size had increased . the easily observed optical properties by plm suggested that no change in crystal form occurred , but at least some of the sample had deliquesced and recrystallized on drying . table iv shows the detailed data from the dvs moisture balance . this salt form , 1 . 5 hcl has no solvation . table iv target rh (%) sorption desorption hysteresis cycle 1 0 . 0 0 . 00 13 . 02 10 . 0 0 . 10 20 . 0 0 . 16 18 . 93 18 . 77 30 . 0 0 . 21 40 . 0 0 . 26 22 . 72 22 . 46 50 . 0 0 . 28 60 . 0 0 . 27 33 . 44 33 . 16 70 . 0 0 . 91 80 . 0 18 . 48 67 . 59 49 . 10 85 . 0 46 . 91 90 . 0 76 . 82 76 . 82 [ 0085 ] white crystalline solid mp 253 h - nmr , hr - ms , chn & gt ; 99 . 0 white crystalline solid mp 229 . 33 h - nmr , hr - ms , chn & gt ; 99 . 0