A drug-drug anhydrous pharmaceutical salt containing tolbutamide {systematic name: 3-butyl-1-[(4-methylbenzene)sulfonyl]urea, TOL, C12H18N2O3S} and metformin (systematic name: 1-carbamimidamido-N,N-dimethylmethanimidamide, MET, C4H11N5) was created based on antidiabetic drug combinations to overcome the poor pharmaceutical properties of the parent drugs. Proton transfer and the proportion of the two components were confirmed by 1H NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Comprehensive characterization of the new pharmaceutical salt crystal, 2-[(dimethylamino)(iminiumyl)methyl]guanidine (butylcarbamoyl)[(4-methylbenzene)sulfonyl]azanide, C4H12N5+·C12H17N2O3S-, was performed and showed enhancement of the pharmaceutical properties, such as lower hygroscopicity and greater accelerated stability than the parent drug MET, and higher solubility and dissolution rate than TOL. The property alterations were correlated with the crystal packing features and potential hydrogen-bonding sites through observed changes in the crystal structures.
Keywords: crystal structure; drug combinations; drug–drug salt; hydrogen-bonding network; metformin; pharmaceutical properties; tolbutamide; type 2 diabetes.