The Realm of Pharmaceutical Multicomponent Forms

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Crystals highlights the use of co-crystallization and the development of other multicomponent forms in the pharmaceutical context, as a tool to improve drug properties and consequently tackle specific drug problems.

Co-crystallization is a crystal engineering approach in which a drug is combined to one or more coformers by non-covalent interactions with the intention of tuning drugs’ properties, such as solubility, bioavailability, stability, and mechanical properties, among others. The coformers should be molecules considered safe for pharmaceutical applications or even other drugs. Nevertheless, in addition to co-crystals, also other multicomponent forms, such as solvates, ionic co-crystals, molecular salts, eutectic mixtures, and even co-amorphous materials, can be synthesized, leading to significant improvements in drug properties.

During the development process, it is important to bear in mind that industry in general, and the pharmaceutical industry in particular, is changing the way of producing new materials, using more sustainable methods with less toxic materials. Solvent-free synthetic methods are being investigated, and the paradigm of batch manufacturing is changing to continuous manufacturing, decreasing the amount of residues and increasing energetic efficiency.

The aim of this Special Issue is to show how different multicomponent forms can improve drug properties and how they can be transposed to industrial settings. Therefore, works related to the development of all the abovementioned multicomponent forms are welcome in this Special Issue. Additionally, industrial applications of sustainable and greener co-crystallization methods are encouraged.

Dr. Mafalda Cruz Sarraguça
Dr. Vânia André
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Crystals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Co-crystallization
• Co-crystals
• Ionic co-crystals
• Molecular salts
• Eutectic mixtures
• Co-amorphous
• Industrial applications
• Sustainability