Electron diffraction offers a straightforward method to determine crystal structures.
A common challenge with traditional techniques is the inability to obtain a single crystal large enough to be analyzed and corresponding to the target structure.
Electron diffraction overcomes this by enabling structure determination directly from powder samples, making the process more accessible and easier to control.
Identification of new solid forms
When a new crystal form is discovered — whether by chance or through a dedicated screening — XRPD alone cannot confirm whether it’s a pure phase or a mixture.
Traditional methods to resolve this question are time-consuming, and only full crystal structure determination can provide a definitive answer.
Electron diffraction enables direct identification of the solid form from the native powder sample, and makes it possible to calculate the “ideal” XRPD pattern for unambiguous confirmation.
Reference sample qualification and manufacturing for analytical methods validation
Regulatory authorities are tightening their expectations regarding crystal forms and XRPD analytical methods.
There is a growing need for reference samples of undesired crystal forms (considered “impurities” in XRPD), particularly for LOD determination and quantification.
Over the past few years, Holodiag has answered a steady increase in customer requests for complete analytical method development, largely driven by evolving regulatory requirements.
Salts & Co-crystals nature determination
When investigating salt or co-crystal formation and crystallization processes, it is essential to confirm the exact nature of the resulting solid form.
Conventional analytical techniques (e.g., LC, NMR, ICP-MS, fluorescence) can be time-consuming, require multiple approaches, and may still fail to provide a definitive answer.
Electron diffraction offers a direct and reliable method to determine both the nature and stoichiometry of the new solid form from the native sample.
Molecular structure elucidation + chirality
Electron diffraction is a valuable technique for confirming molecular structures in medicinal chemistry and elucidating the structure of impurities.
ED enables more efficient determination of chirality and absolute configuration compared to traditional X-ray diffraction.
Only a crystalline particle of powder is required, which can be obtained directly from a small fraction of a preparative LC sample (1mg).
