Doxycycline (DOX) is a tetracycline
class drug that is used worldwide
as a broad-spectrum antibiotic. Although its clinical importance and
use have been known since the 1960s, only four crystal forms have
been reported until now. These are doxycycline hyclate (DOX.HYC),
which is a hydrochloride salt hemiethanolate-hemihydrate; its isomorphous
hydrobromide, hydrochloride salt dihydrate (DOX·HCl·2H2O); and doxycycline monohydrate (DOX·H2O).
Here we report the preparation of two new multicomponent molecular
crystal forms of doxycycline and their crystal structure determination
along with their melting temperature, aqueous solubility, and time-dependent
dissolution profile. These crystal forms are a hydronitrate salt hemihydrate
(DOX·HNO3·0.5H2O) and an acetic acid
solvate dihydrate (DOX·HAc·2H2O). The two new
doxycycline crystal forms were compared with known forms, including
DOX·HCl·2H2O, the structure of which was redetermined
in this work. The structural variability of the protonation patterns,
tautomerism of the keto–enolate moieties, and conformation
of the amide groups was observed for these compounds. While intramolecular
rings assembled through resonance-assisted hydrogen bond (RAHB) were
observed in both fused keto–enol moieties of all structures,
DOX·HCl·2H2O and DOX·HNO3·0.5H2O have another RAHB encompassing the protonated amide carbonyl
oxygen and the enolate oxygen. These two crystal forms have a net
positive charge on their drug molecule as DOX·HYC. They crystallize
with the
N,N
-dimethylamine and amide
carbonyl groups protonated and the neighboring hydroxyl group deprotonated.
DOX, by contrast, crystallizes as a zwitterion in DOX·HAc·2H2O similarly to DOX·H2O. Their amide carbonyl
oxygens are not protonated, which differs from the salt forms. DOX·HNO3·0.5H2O presents as two tautomers that are
similar to those of DOX·HYC, namely, T1, in which the enolate
oxygen is next to the protonated amine group, and T2, with the carbonyl
oxygen close to the protonated amine group. These tautomers also differ
in their amide conformations due to a rotation of ca. 180° on
the C–C bond axis of the amide group, which directs the protonated
carbonyl oxygen toward the enolate oxygen. DOX·HCl·2H2O has only one T1-like tautomer and therefore only one amide
conformation similar to that of T1. A T1-like keto–enolate
tautomer is present in DOX·HAc·2H2O, which exhibits
an amide conformation similar to that of T2. Thermal (DSC and TG)
and infrared analysis and equilibrium solubility, dissolution profiles,
and forced degradation studies were performed to both new and known
DOX forms. The results were correlated with their structural features.
DOX·HNO3·0.5H2O was the most soluble
form. This new form was also more stable than the commercial DOX·HYC
in the oxidation test and more stable than commercial DOX·H2O against acid and basic hydrolysis and in the photostability
study. DOX·HNO3·0.5H2O and DOX·HYC
(commercial form) were observed to have similar drug release behaviors
from capsules (F2 > 50) and therefore they could be i...