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Updated: Feb 14, 2026

X-ray Powder Diffraction in Conservation Science: Towards Routine Crystal Structure Determination of Corrosion Products on Heritage Art Objects
Published on: June 8, 2016
Absolute Configuration of Pharmaceutical Research Compounds Determined by X-ray Powder Diffraction
Carina Schlesinger1, Lukas Tapmeyer1, Silke D Gumbert1
1Goethe-Universität, Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Max-von-Laue-Str. 7, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Abstract:
The absolute configuration of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) was determined by generating salts of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) with counterions of known chirality, and determining the crystal structures by X-ray powder diffraction. This approach avoids the (often tedious) growth of single crystals, and is successful with very limited quantities of material (less than 1 mg). The feasibility of the method is demonstrated on five examples, and its limitations are discussed as well.
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