Topology of the interactions pattern in pharmaceutically relevant polymorphs of methylxanthines (caffeine, theobromine, and theophiline): combined experimental (¹H-¹⁴N nuclear quadrupole double resonance) and computational (DFT and Hirshfeld-based) study.

Three anhydrous methylxanthines: caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine; 1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6-(3H,7H)-dione) and its two metabolites theophylline (1,3-dimethylxanthine; 1,3-dimethyl-7H-purine-2,6-dione) and theobromine (3,7-dimethyl-xanthine; 3,7-dimethyl-7H-purine-2,6-dione), which reveal multifaceted therapeutic potential, have been studied experimentally in solid state by (1)H-(14)N NMR-NQR (nuclear magnetic resonance-nuclear quadrupole resonance) double resonance (NQDR). For each compound the complete NQR spectrum consisting of 12 lines was recorded. The multiplicity of NQR lines indicates the presence of a stable β form of anhydrous caffeine at 233 K and stable form II of anhydrous theobromine at 213 K. The assignment of signals detected in NQR experiment to particular nitrogen atoms was made on the basis of quantum chemistry calculations performed for monomer, cluster, and solid at the DFT/GGA/BLYP/DPD level. The shifts due to crystal packing interactions were evaluated, and the multiplets detected by NQR were assigned to N(9) in theobromine and N(1) and N(9) in caffeine. The ordering theobromine > theophylline > caffeine site and theophylline < theobromine < caffeine according to increasing electric field gradient (EFG) at the N(1) and N(7) sites, respectively, reflects the changes in biological activity profile of compounds from the methylxanthines series (different pharmacological effects). This difference is elucidated on the basis of the ability to form intra- and intermolecular interactions (hydrogen bonds and π···π stacking interactions). The introduction of methyl groups to xanthine restricts the ability of nitrogen atoms to participate in strong hydrogen bonds; as a result, the dominating effect shifts from hydrogen bond (theobromine) to π···π stacking (caffeine). Substantial differences in the intermolecular interactions in stable forms of methylxanthines differing in methylation (site or number) were analyzed within the Hirshfeld surface-based approach. The analysis of local environment of the nitrogen nucleus permitted drawing some conclusions on the nature of the interactions required for effective processes of recognition and binding of a given methylxanthine to A1-A(2A) receptor (target for caffeine in the brain). Although the interactions responsible for linking neighboring methylxanthines molecules in crystals and methylxanthines with targets in the human organism can differ significantly, the knowledge of the topology of interactions provides reliable preliminary information about the nature of this binding.