DFT–Assisted Structure Determination from Powder X-ray Diffraction Data of a New Zonisamide/ϵ-Caprolactam Cocrystal

Abstract

The crystal structure of a new zonisamide cocrystal, an anticonvulsant drug used to treat the symptoms of epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease, with ϵ-caprolactam is reported herein. The structure has been solved by direct space methodologies from powder X-ray diffraction data. The refinement of the structure was conducted by the Rietveld method assisted by the dispersion-corrected density-functional theory (D-DFT) calculations and periodic boundary conditions. Further analysis of the structure reveals several H-bonded synthons and self–assembled dimers that have been further analyzed by DFT calculations and other computational tools such as molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) surfaces and the quantum theory of “atom-in-molecules” (QTAIM).