Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Ashley T Hulme.
A computational prediction that mixing the synthetic mirror image of progesterone with its natural form would produce a specific racemic crystal structure was validated.
The crystal structure of a 5-fluorouracil-thymine [5-fluoropyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione-5-methylpyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione, C(4)H(3)FN(2)O(2)xC(5)H(6)N(2)O(2)] solid solution has been determined. Both of the crystallographically independent sites can accommodate either 5-fluorouracil or thymine molecules, leading to occupational disorder [C(5-x)H(6-3x)F(x)N(2)O(2)xC(5-y)H(6-3x)F(y)N(2)O(2), with x = 0.52 and y = 0.7 for determination (I), x = 0.55 and y = 0.69 for (II), and x = 0.67 and y = 0.76 for (III)]. The 5-fluorouracil-thymine ratio in the crystal structure is influenced by the 5-fluorouracil-thymine ratio in the crystallization solution, though it does not exactly mirror it. The crystal structure comprises interpenetrating hydrogen-bonded nets, containing four independent hydrogen bonds.
We investigate the fundamental factors controlling polymorphism in 5-fluorouracil by performing molecular dynamics simulations of solutions of the compound in water, nitromethane, and wet nitromethane. Analysis of the effect of solvent on the initial aggregation of 5-fluorouracil molecules shows that the strong binding of water to the 5-fluorouracil molecule hinders the formation of the doubly hydrogen-bonded dimer and, by default, promotes close hydrophobic F...F interactions that are a feature of the unusual (Z' = 4) structure of form I. In contrast, doubly hydrogen-bonded dimers are observed to form readily in solution in dry nitromethane, consistent with the crystallization of the doubly hydrogen-bonded ribbon structure of form II from this solvent. When nitromethane is doped with water, the water forms hydrogen bonds to the solute, interfering with the formation of the doubly hydrogen-bonded dimers, which is consistent with the crystallization of form I from this hygroscopic solvent when it is not dried. Overall, the molecular dynamics simulations provide an atomistic picture of how solvent-solute interactions can significantly affect the initial association of 5-fluorouracil molecules to the extent that they determine the polymorphic outcome of the crystallization.
A new polymorph of 5-fluorouracil has been obtained following a manual polymorph screen inspired by a computational crystal structure prediction search. It corresponds to the structure that was predicted to be the global minimum in lattice energy. The difficulty of crystallizing this simple structure with a rational hydrogen-bonding motif can be rationalized from the differential solvation of the functional groups.