Crystal engineering is attracting attention in the pharmaceutical industry because the design of new crystal form of drugs can improve their stability, bioavailability and other relevant physical characteristic properties. Therefore, crystal engineering of nutraceuticals such as flavonoids by exploring their hydrogen bonding interactions can generate novel compounds such as pharmaceutical cocrystals. Flavonoids are polyphenolic secondary plant metabolites that are present in varying levels in fruits, vegetables and beverages. The "French paradox", low cardiovascular mortality rate in spite of high intake of saturated fat among the Mediterranean populations made flavonoids an appropriate target for therapeutic researchers. The work herein deals with the crystal engineering of two flavonoids, quercetin and hesperetin, which are already known to exhibit antioxidant properties and reduce cardiovascular effects in humans. However, they have limited bioavailability and poor water solubility. Several new forms of quercetin and hesperetin in the form of solvates and cocrystals were synthesized. These new crystal forms were characterized by various techniques: FT-IR, DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry), single X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, TGA (Thermal Gravimetric Analysis) and melting point. The new compounds were also studied via dissolution studies performed in 1:1 ethanol/water (V/V%). Thus, crystal engineering proves to be effective way to enhance the solubility and bioavailability of the target flavonoid molecules.

This dissertation is mainly focused on charge assisted noncovalent interactions specially hydrogen and halogen bonds. Generally, noncovalent interactions are only weak forces of interaction but an introduction of suitable charge on binding units increases the strength of the noncovalent bonds by a several orders of magnitude. These charge assisted noncovalent interactions have wide ranges of applications from crystal engineering to drug design. Not only that, nature accomplishes a number of important tasks using these interactions. Although, a good number of theoretical and experimental studies have already been done in this field, some fundamental properties of charge assisted hydrogen and halogen bonds still lack molecular level understanding and their electronic properties are yet to be explored. Better understanding of the electronic properties of these bonds will have applications on the rational design of drugs, noble functional materials, catalysts and so on. In most of this dissertation, comparative studies have been made between charge and neutral noncovalent interactions by quantum mechanical calculations. The comparisons are primarily focused on energetics and the electronic properties. In most of the cases, comparative studies are also made between hydrogen and halogen bonds which contradict the long time notion that the H-bond is the strongest noncovalent interactions.Besides that, this dissertation also explores the long range behavior and directional properties of various neutral and charge assisted noncovalent bonds.

Photosystem II is unique! It remains the only enzyme that can oxidize water using light as energy input. Water oxidation in photosystem II is catalyzed by the CaMn4 cluster. The electrons extracted from the CaMn4 cluster are transferred to P680+ via the tyrosine residue D1-Tyr161 (YZ). Favorable oxidation of YZ is coupled to a proton transfer along a hydrogen bond to the nearby D1-His190 residue, resulting in the neutral radical YZ•. By illuminating photosystem II at cryogenic temperatures, YZ• can be trapped in a stable state. Magnetic interaction between this radical and the CaMn4 cluster gives rise to a split electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal with characteristics that depend on the oxidation state (S state) of the cluster. The mechanism by which the split EPR signals are formed is different depending on the S state. In the S0 and S1 states, split signal induction proceeds via a P680+-centered mechanism, whereas in the S2 and S3 states, our results show that split induction stems from a Mn-centered mechanism. This S state-dependent pattern of split EPR signal induction can be correlated to the charge of the CaMn4 cluster in the S state in question and has prompted us to propose a general model for the induction mechanism across the different S states. At the heart of this model is the stability or otherwise of the YZ•–(D1-His190)+ pair during cryogenic illumination. The model is closely related to the sequence of electron and proton transfers from the cluster during the S cycle. Furthermore, the important hydrogen bond between YZ and D1-His190 has been investigated by following the split EPR signal formation in the different S states as a function of pH. All split EPR signals investigated decrease in intensity with a pKa of ~4-5. This pKa can be correlated to a titration event that disrupts the essential hydrogen bond, possibly by a direct protonation of D1-His190.  This has important consequences for the function of the CaMn4 cluster as this critical YZ–D1-His190 hydrogen bond steers a multitude of reactions at the cluster.

Traditional organic chromophores and polymers with disc-like, coplanar geometry tend to be highly emissive in the dilute solutions but become weakly luminescent in the concentrated solution and solid states. On the contrast, conventional chromophores (such as silole) with non-coplanar structure exhibit strong fluorescence in the concentrated states due to the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) or AIE enhancement (AIEE) effect originated from the restricted intramolecular rotation (RIR) inherent from the chemical structures of the luminescent materials. To verify the influence of RIR on the AIEE properties, four approaches were attempted in this research. First, copolymers PFN with alternative fluorene-naphthol unit was prepared through facile Suzuki coupling and was characterized to have AIEE properties due to the hydrogen-bond (H-bond) interactions among the inherent hydroxyl (OH) groups of the naphthol units. The H-bond interactions of PFN copolymer effectively restrict the molecular rotations and experimental variables (such as increasing solution concentration, introducing non-solvent water to solution, cooling and applying shearing forces during solvent evaporation stage etc.) effective in promoting the H-bond interactions result in the emission enhancement. Second, the fluorescent PFN was blended with poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVR) through facile hydrogen-bond (H-bond) interactions. By the effective H-bond interactions between the OH groups of PFN and the carbonyl functions of PVR. The molecular rotations of PFN can be effectively locked by large amounts of carbonyl groups in PVR. With the efficient H-bond interactions, the PFN/PVR blend with the low content (2.33 wt%) of fluorescent PFN component actually has a high quantum efficiency of 0.93, comparatively higher than other blends containing higher fluorescent PFN. Third, novel vinyl polymer PTP with pendant AIE-effective tetraphenylthiophene (TP) group was prepared through radical polymerization. The resultant PTP polymer exhibits two discernible emission bands corresponding to monomer and aggregate emissions, respectively. The relative monomer to aggregate emission intensity of the PTP polymer in either the solution or the solid state depends strongly on the extent of aggregations. Increasing solution concentration results in the increasing extent of aggregation and the increasing aggregate/monomer emission ratio and also, the large emission enhancement due to the AIEE effect. Finally, the TP-derived ammonium (TP-NH3+) cations are complexed with poly(sodium vinylsulfonate) (PSV) polyanion to generate ionic PSV-TP(x/y) systems with long-range electrostatic interactions between the cationic ammonium of TP-NH3+ and the polyanion of PSV. The fluorophoric TP units are associated with each other to form large aggregate domains stabilized by the long-range interactions. Introduction of water into dilute solution of PSV-TP in THF resulted in self-aggregated nanoparticles and the accompanied emission enhancement due to AIEE effect. Introduction of excess PSV polyanions promoted the self-aggregation of the TP fluorophores and resulted in the fluorescence enhancement. Nevertheless, addition of NaCl electrolytes causes the dissociations of the TP aggregates and the corresponding emission reduction. By controlling the additive, the blended PSV-TP film containing excess PSV has a high quantum yield of £XF = 0.83. In addition, the ionic PSV-TP complex film possesses high spectral stability without spectral variations after annealing at a high temperature of 270 oC.

Pharmaceutical cocrystals use principles of crystal engineering for the design of crystalline forms of drugs and can improve their solubility, bioavailability, stability and other important properties without changing the efficacy of the drug. Herein reported are pharmaceutical cocrystals of two API's, caffeine and Pentoxifylline. Research has indicated that caffeine has the ability to reverse AB; plaque deposition in the brain (believed to be the primary cause of Alzheimer's pathogenesis) and thus revert memory and improve cognitive impairment. But owing to the fast absorption rate and short half life, a controlled release formulation of caffeine would be clinically beneficial. Thus, novel cocrystals of caffeine are presented with varying solubilities with respect to caffeine. The pharmaceutical cocrystals of caffeine used herein include: caffeine.cyanuric acid monohydrate, caffeine.syringic acid tetrahydrate, caffeine.chlorogenic acid and caffeine.catechin hydrate. Three caffeine cocrystals were prepared in our lab previously which include caffeine.ferulic acid, caffeine.ethyl gallate dihydrate and caffeine.caffeic acid. In addition, six caffeine cocrystal forms were reproduced from the literature and included in the solubility study: caffeine.quercetin, caffeine.salicylic acid, caffeine.1-hydroxy-2-napthoic acid, caffeine.gallic acid hemihydrate, caffeine.ellagic acid monohydrate and caffeine.coumaric acid. Dissolution studies were performed in aqueous media at room temperature. All of the cocrystals decreased the solubility of caffeine with the highest being a 278 fold decrease in the solubility of caffeine. Analysis of melting point, crystal packing efficiency and solubility of cocrystal former with solubility was also done to determine if they influenced the solubility. Presented herein are the results of the analyses. It was seen that solubility of the cocrystal former had no effect on the decrease in cocrystal solubility. Moreover melting point and solubility of the cocrystal could not be correlated probably due to the variability in the cocrystal formers. Crystal packing efficiency though did not show a high correlation with solubility but it was seen that highest solubility achieved by pure caffeine achieved the lowest crystal packing efficiency and vice versa suggesting its role in cocrystal solubility. Pentoxifylline is contraindicated for its use in autism. But owing to high solubility of the drug, a less soluble form of the drug would help in decreasing the half life and thereby help in forming a sustained form of the drug by modifying the inherent solubility of the API. Here, novel cocrystals of Pentoxifylline are presented with varying solubilities with respect to the API. The pharmaceutical cocrystals used herein include: pentoxifylline.benzoic acid, pentoxifylline.1-hydroxy-2-napthoic acid, pentoxifylline.salicylic acid, pentoxifylline.gallic acid, pentoxifylline. salicylamide, pentoxifylline.coumaric acid, pentoxifylline.caffeic acid and pentoxifylline.catechin hydrate. Dissolution studies were also performed in aqueous media at room temperature. All of the cocrystals decreased the solubility of Pentoxifylline with the highest being a 99 fold decrease in the solubility with pentoxifylline.coumaric acid. On analyzing melting point, crystal packing efficiency and relation of solubility of cocrystal former with solubility of cocrystal, as was done in the case of caffeine, the parameters showed no effect on solubility of the cocrystal.

The cocrystallization of two or more pure compounds by crystal engineering to create a new functional material is of a great academic and industrial interest. Pharmaceutical cocrystallization has allured a lot of attention by means of altering the physicochemical properties of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) such as solubility, stability and bioavailability. Crystal engineering of nutraceuticals can produce novel compounds such as pharmaceutical cocrystals. To establish the importance of nutraceutical cocrystallization and its use; polyphenols, a major class of nutraceuticals and potential disease preventing agents, are the appropriate targets. The work herein focuses on two polyphenols, protocatechuic acid and quercetin, which are strong antioxidants. The cocrystals of quercetin have been synthesized, aiming to modify its poor water solubility and bioavailability which limits its usage. On the other hand, cocrystals of water soluble protocatechuic acid are also prepared to establish its use as a cocrystal former. Seven novel cocrystals of protocatechuic acid and two novel cocrystals of quercetin are obtained and are characterized by FTIR, DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry), PXRD (Powder X-Ray Diffraction), single crystal x-ray diffraction and TGA (Thermo Gravimetric Analysis). The new crystal forms have also been studied via dissolution. Dissolution studies show alteration in solubility of a target molecule by its cocrystal irrespective of solubility of the cocrystal former. Overall, the study helps in understanding the role of crystal engineering and its utility.

The research presented herein focus upon crystal engineering of co-crystals with an emphasis upon the exploration of co-crystals in the context of delineation of the reliability of hydrogen bonded supramolecular synthons and their hierarchies. The approach involves a combination of systematic Cambridge Structural Database analysis and a series of model co-crystal experiments. In addition, the viability of solid state methodologies toward supramolecular synthesis of co-crystals and the effect on polymorphism is also addressed. The application of the acquired knowledge is towards the crystal engineering of pharmaceutical co-crystals. The rational design and synthesis of pharmaceutical co-crystals accomplished by the selection of appropriate co-crystal formers facilitated by analysis of existing crystals structures in the CSD will be demonstrated. The processing of pharmaceutical co-crystals will also be addressed in terms of slurry conversion, solvent drop grinding and solution crystallization.

Neutral or charge-assisted hydrogen bonds occurring between organic molecules represent strong and directional forces that mediate the molecular self-assembly into well defined supramolecular architectures. A proper understanding of hydrogen bonding interactions, their types, geometries, and occurrence in supramolecular motifs, is a prerequisite to crystal engineering, i.e. to the rational design of functional solid materials.Multiple-component organic crystals represent ideal systems to study the intermolecular interactions between the constituent molecules that can be pre-selected for their hydrogen bonding sites and geometrical capabilities. In particular, the systematic structural analysis of supramolecular systems that are comprised of simple molecules facilitates the development of strategies for the rational design of new multiple-component compounds involving more complex components such as drug molecules.The work presented herein shows a combination of systematic database and experimental studies in the context of reliability and hierarchy of several hydrogen bonded supramolecular synthons that exist in a series of model co-crystals and organic salts. The acquired paradigms are ultimately utilized in crystal engineering of pharmaceuticals. In addition, the viability of a mechanichemical approach toward supramolecular synthesis in the context of its efficacy and the effect on polymorphism in multiple-component compounds is also addressed.

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