Structural basis for the transformation pathways of the sodium naproxen anhydrate–hydrate system

Abstract

Crystal structures are presented for two dihydrate polymorphs (DH-I and DH-II) of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug sodium (S)-naproxen. The structure of DH-I is determined from twinned single crystals obtained by solution crystallization. DH-II is obtained by solid-state routes, and its structure is derived using powder X-ray diffraction, solid-state13C and23Na MAS NMR, and molecular modelling. The validity of both structures is supported by dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D) calculations. The structures of DH-I and DH-II, and in particular their relationships to the monohydrate (MH) and anhydrate (AH) structures, provide a basis to rationalize the observed transformation pathways in the sodium (S)-naproxen anhydrate–hydrate system. All structures contain Na+/carboxylate/H2O sections, alternating with sections containing the naproxen molecules. The structure of DH-I is essentially identical to MH in the naproxen region, containing face-to-face arrangements of the naphthalene rings, whereas the structure of DH-II is comparable to AH in the naproxen region, containing edge-to-face arrangements of the naphthalene rings. This structural similarity permits topotactic transformation between AH and DH-II, and between MH and DH-I, but requires re-organization of the naproxen molecules for transformation between any other pair of structures. The topotactic pathways dominate at room temperature or below, while the non-topotactic pathways become active at higher temperatures. Thermochemical data for the dehydration processes are rationalized in the light of this new structural information.