A detailed study on chiral compound structures found in the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) is presented. Solvates, salts and co-crystals have intentionally been excluded, in order to focus on the most basic structures of single enantiomers, scalemates and racemates. Similarity between the latter and structures of achiral monomolecular compounds has been established and utilized to arrive at important conclusions about crystallization of chiral compounds. For example, the fundamental phenomenon of conglomerate formation and, in particular, their frequency of occurrence is addressed. In addition, rarely occurring kryptoracemates and scalemic compounds (anomalous racemates) are discussed. Finally, an extended search of enantiomer solid solutions in the CSD is performed to show that there are up to 1800 instances most probably hiding among the deposited crystal structures, while only a couple of dozen have been previously known and studied.

A solvate screening and characterization of the obtained solvates was performed to rationalize and understand the solvate formation of active pharamaceutical ingredient droperidol. The solvate screening revealed that droperidol can form 11 different solvates. The analysis of the crystal structures and molecular properties revealed that droperidol solvate formation is mainly driven by the inability of droperidol molecules to pack efficiently. The obtained droperidol solvates were characterized by X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis. It was found that droperidol forms seven nonstoichiometric isostructural solvates, and the crystal structures were determined for five of these solvates. To better understand the structure of these five solvates, their solvent sorption–desorption isotherms were recorded, and lattice parameter dependence on the solvent content was determined. This revealed a different behavior of the nonstoichiometic hydrate, which was explained by the simultaneous insertion of two hydrogen-bonded water molecules. Isostructural solvates were formed with sufficiently small solvent molecules providing effective intermolecular interactions, and solvate formation was rationalized based on already presented solvent classification. The lack of solvent specificity in isostructural solvates was explained by the very effective interactions between droperidol molecules. Desolvation of stoichiometric droperidol solvates produced one of the four droperidol polymorphs, whereas that of nonstoichiometic solvates produced an isostructural desolvate.

A detailed thermochemical and structural study of the phenylpiracetam enantiomer system was performed by characterizing the solid solutions, rationalizing the structural driving force for their formation, as well as identifying a common structural origin responsible for the formation of solid solutions of enantiomers. Enantiomerically pure phenylpiracetam forms two enantiotropically related polymorphs (enant–A and enant–B). The transition point (70(7) °C) was determined based on isobaric heat capacity measurements. Structural studies revealed that enant–A and enant–B crystallize in space groups P1 (Z′ = 4) and P212121 (Z′ = 2), respectively. However, pseudoinversion centers were present resulting in apparent centrosymmetric structures. The quasi centrosymmetry was achieved by a large variety of phenylpiracetam conformations in the solid state (six in total). As a result, miscibility of the phenylpiracetam enantiomers in the solid state is present for scalemic and racemic samples, which was confirmed by the melt phase diagram. Racemic phenylpiracetam (rac–A) was determined to crystallize in the P1̅ space group being isostructural to enant–A; furthermore, disorder is present showing that enantiomers are distributed in a random manner. The lack of enantioselectivity in the solid state is explained. Furthermore, structural aspects of phenylpiracetam solid solutions are discussed in the scope of other cases reported in the literature.