Microgravity-Grown Crystals as Seeds for Pharmaceutical Compounds

Polymorph formation of pharmaceutical agents continues to be a challenge for the industry. Using seeds to provide the desired polymorphic form is a practice that circumvents this obstacle. Crystals grown in a microgravity environment provide an optimal template for seeding additional crystallization. In this study, single crystals were utilized as seeds for multiple generations of the same polymorph formation for carbamazepine and atorvastatin calcium. This study shows that microgravity can provide different polymorphs than ground studies under the same conditions and that these crystals are excellent seeds for up to 10 generations of crystal growth.