Thermodynamics of sublimation, crystal lattice energies, and crystal structures of racemates and enantiomers: (+)- and (+/-)-ibuprofen.

Thermodynamic differences between ibuprofen (IBP) racemate and the (+)-enantiomer were studied by X-ray diffraction, thermoanalysis, and crystal energy calculations. The thermodynamic functions of sublimation (as a measure of crystal lattice energy) were obtained by the transpiration method. The sublimation enthalpies (DeltaH(sub)) of (+/-)-IBP and (+)-IBP are 115.8 +/- 0.6 and 107.4 +/- 0.5 kJ. mol(-1), respectively. Using the temperature dependency of the saturated vapor pressure, the relative fractions of enthalpy and entropy of the sublimation process were calculated, and the sublimation process for both the racemate and the enantiomer was found to be enthalpy driven (62%). Two different force fields, Mayo et al. (M) and Gavezzotti (G), were used for comparative analysis of crystal lattice energies. Both force fields revealed that the van der Waals term contributes more to the packing energy in (+)-IBP than in (+/-)-IBP. The hydrogen bonding energy, however, contributes at 29.7 and 32.3% to the total crystal lattice energy in (+)-IBP and (+/-)-IBP (M), respectively. Furthermore, different structure fragments of the IBP molecule were analyzed with respect to their contribution to nonbonded van der Waals interactions. The effect of the C-H distance on the van der Waals term of the crystal lattice energy was also studied. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association