The experimental charge density analysis of the anti-hyperglycemic agent metformin chloride with high-resolution X-ray diffraction data at low temperature (100 K) has been performed and these experimental results were compared with that derived from the corresponding periodic theoretical calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G** level of theory. The experimental and theoretical multipolar charge-density analyses of metformin chloride have been accomplished in order to understand its structural and electronic properties. The C and N atoms of the molecular backbone adopt a near trigonal geometry due to the occurrence of extensive delocalization/resonance of C-N bonds, as confirmed by topological analysis and also found by Natural Resonance Theory calculations performed in the isolated metformin cation. The molecule contains six C-N bonds and the topological bond order analysis shows that four bonds have bond orders close to 4/3 and two bonds can be considered as single. The analysis of numerical parameters of the valence shell charge concentration reports that the N3 atom, which forms two bonds with C atoms, possesses one non-bonding valence-shell charge concentration (VSCC) in the direction of the electron lone pair. Among the intermolecular interactions of the chloride atom with the H-C and H-N atoms, eight have been found to be shorter than the sum of van der Waals radii. The analysis of contacts on the Hirshfeld surface reveals that the H-NÁ Á ÁCl hydrogen bonds are enriched (over-represented) and act as the driving force in the crystal packing formation. The metformin cations form favorable electrostatic interactions with the chloride anions which have globally a stronger energy than the unfavorable cation/cation interactions.

A combined molecular docking, QM, and QM/MM dynamics modeling complemented with electron-density based descriptors computed at the B3LYP/6-311G++(d,p) level of theory have been carried out in order to understand the ability of the drugs rhodanine (RD) and 2,4-thiazolidinedione (TZD) in the effective treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The global HOMO/LUMO descriptors provided just a very rough estimate of the chemical reactivity of both molecules, while the features of electron density studied in terms of its Laplacian and electrostatic potential allowed identifying the local electron rich/poor sites which were associated with the regions of electrophilic/nucleophilic attacks in RD and TZD. These results were thoroughly checked using the novel physically-grounded functional descriptors such as the phase-space Fisher information density and the internal kinetic electronic pressure density, which confirmed the information on bonding and lone electron pair details. The molecular docking, QM, and QM/MM dynamics analyses revealed the detailed picture of interactions of the drugs with the amino acid residues of the active site of the human pancreatic alpha-amylase protein (hPAA). The main difference in behavior of RD and TZD molecules is related to the hydrogen bond between the NH group of the ligand and Asp197. In hPAA complex with RD the proton from the NH group, which carries large positive charge (~ +0.45 e), spontaneously transfers to the carboxyl group of Asp197 and stays there, while in complex with TZD this proton frequently changes its position with the more preferable formation of covalent bond with the N atom. Upon deprotonation of the ligand, its hydrogen bonds with Arg195 and His299 become stronger. This process influences the binding with the difference of the binding constants of RD and TZD about 200 times with the higher value corresponding to the RD molecule. Thus, the cumulative results lead to the conclusion that rhodanine would have a higher binding affinity than the 2,4-thiazolidinedione molecule in the active site of human pancreatic alpha-amylase.

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Charge density distribution in ampicillin trihydrate was investigated experimentally. Results were compared with the quantum calculations using density functional theory. The charge derived properties including Mulliken atomic charges, dipole moment, and molecular electrostatic potential were calculated. The multipole analysis was done for the refinement of experimental population parameters. The structure factors obtained from multipole treatment were used for the construction of Fourier maps. Topological properties of the charge distribution were discussed and the characteristics of (3, −1) critical points were analyzed.