The experimental charge density analysis of the anti-hyperglycemic agent metformin chloride with high-resolution X-ray diffraction data at low temperature (100 K) has been performed and these experimental results were compared with that derived from the corresponding periodic theoretical calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G** level of theory. The experimental and theoretical multipolar charge-density analyses of metformin chloride have been accomplished in order to understand its structural and electronic properties. The C and N atoms of the molecular backbone adopt a near trigonal geometry due to the occurrence of extensive delocalization/resonance of C—N bonds, as confirmed by topological analysis and also found by Natural Resonance Theory calculations performed in the isolated metformin cation. The molecule contains six C—N bonds and the topological bond order analysis shows that four bonds have bond orders close to 4/3 and two bonds can be considered as single. The analysis of numerical parameters of the valence shell charge concentration reports that the N3 atom, which forms two bonds with C atoms, possesses one non-bonding valence-shell charge concentration (VSCC) in the direction of the electron lone pair. Among the intermolecular interactions of the chloride atom with the H—C and H—N atoms, eight have been found to be shorter than the sum of van der Waals radii. The analysis of contacts on the Hirshfeld surface reveals that the H—N

Cl hydrogen bonds are enriched (over-represented) and act as the driving force in the crystal packing formation. The metformin cations form favorable electrostatic interactions with the chloride anions which have globally a stronger energy than the unfavorable cation/cation interactions.
Supporting information
CCDC reference: 1515490
Cell refinement: SAINT v8.27A (Bruker, 2012); data reduction: SAINT v8.27A (Bruker, 2012); program(s) used to refine structure: MoPro (J. Appl. Cryst. 2005, 38, 38-54); molecular graphics: Olex2 (Dolomanov et al., 2009); software used to prepare material for publication: Olex2 (Dolomanov et al., 2009).
Crystal data top
C4H12N5·Cl | Z = 4 |
Mr = 165.62 | F(000) = 352 |
Monoclinic, P21/c | Dx = 1.390 Mg m−3 |
Hall symbol: -P 2ybc | Mo Kα radiation, λ = 0.71073 Å |
a = 7.9104 (9) Å | Cell parameters from 8957 reflections |
b = 13.8794 (1) Å | θ = 52.4–2.9° |
c = 7.9310 (1) Å | T = 100 K |
β = 114.606 (6)° | Block, colourless |
V = 791.69 (10) Å3 | 0.16 × 0.10 × 0.10 mm |
Data collection top
Bruker APEX-II CCD diffractometer | 7523 reflections with > 2.0σ(I) |
Radiation source: fine-focus sealed tube | θmax = 52.4°, θmin = 2.8° |
Graphite monochromator | h = −17→11 |
φ and ω scans | k = −27→30 |
52222 measured reflections | l = −17→17 |
9027 independent reflections | |
Refinement top
Refinement on F2 | Secondary atom site location: difference Fourier map |
Least-squares matrix: full | Hydrogen site location: difference Fourier map |
R[F2 > 2σ(F2)] = 0.023 | Only H-atom coordinates refined |
wR(F2) = 0.042 | Weighting scheme based on measured s.u.'s |
S = 0.91 | (Δ/σ)max < 0.001 |
9027 reflections | Δρmax = 0.33 e Å−3 |
368 parameters | Δρmin = −0.33 e Å−3 |
216 restraints | Extinction correction: Isotropic Gaussian |
Primary atom site location: structure-invariant direct methods | Extinction coefficient: 0.06144 |
Special details top
Refinement. Refinement of F2 against reflections.
The threshold expression of F2 > 2sigma(F2) is
used for calculating R-factors(gt) and is not
relevant to the choice of reflections for refinement.
R-factors based on F2 are statistically about twice
as large as those based on F, and R-factors based on
ALL data will be even larger. |
Fractional atomic coordinates and isotropic or equivalent isotropic displacement parameters (Å2) top | x | y | z | Uiso*/Ueq | |
Cl1_2 | 0.155718 (9) | 0.484527 (4) | 0.276219 (9) | 0.0124 (5) | |
C1_1 | 0.34268 (4) | 0.89652 (2) | 0.45834 (5) | 0.0156 (5) | |
H1A_1 | 0.4264 (8) | 0.9128 (4) | 0.6019 (3) | 0.03457 | |
H1B_1 | 0.1999 (4) | 0.9158 (4) | 0.4226 (9) | 0.03936 | |
H1C_1 | 0.3939 (8) | 0.9338 (4) | 0.3701 (7) | 0.03663 | |
C2_1 | 0.19149 (4) | 0.75383 (2) | 0.27270 (4) | 0.0156 (5) | |
H2A_1 | 0.2291 (9) | 0.6883 (3) | 0.2241 (8) | 0.03115 | |
H2B_1 | 0.1477 (9) | 0.8054 (3) | 0.1610 (6) | 0.03641 | |
H2C_1 | 0.0778 (6) | 0.7393 (5) | 0.3097 (9) | 0.03294 | |
C3_1 | 0.47988 (4) | 0.736387 (18) | 0.55289 (4) | 0.0101 (5) | |
C4_1 | 0.73773 (4) | 0.839457 (18) | 0.68654 (4) | 0.0100 (5) | |
N1_1 | 0.34991 (4) | 0.793000 (18) | 0.43008 (4) | 0.0115 (5) | |
N2_1 | 0.46112 (4) | 0.64055 (2) | 0.54206 (4) | 0.0139 (5) | |
N3_1 | 0.62491 (4) | 0.772164 (17) | 0.70228 (3) | 0.0111 (5) | |
N4_1 | 0.83892 (5) | 0.89181 (2) | 0.83702 (4) | 0.0145 (5) | |
N5_1 | 0.76291 (4) | 0.85454 (2) | 0.53171 (4) | 0.0129 (5) | |
H2D_1 | 0.3489 (6) | 0.6078 (4) | 0.4437 (8) | 0.02320 | |
H2E_1 | 0.5758 (6) | 0.6005 (4) | 0.6159 (9) | 0.02666 | |
H4A_1 | 0.8054 (9) | 0.8937 (5) | 0.9472 (6) | 0.02669 | |
H4B_1 | 0.9373 (8) | 0.9373 (4) | 0.8325 (10) | 0.02448 | |
H5A_1 | 0.7060 (10) | 0.8090 (4) | 0.4224 (6) | 0.02569 | |
H5B_1 | 0.8509 (8) | 0.9071 (4) | 0.5296 (10) | 0.02586 | |
Atomic displacement parameters (Å2) top | U11 | U22 | U33 | U12 | U13 | U23 |
Cl1_2 | 0.0116 (17) | 0.0127 (17) | 0.0124 (17) | 0.000949 (17) | 0.0045 (7) | −0.000303 (16) |
C1_1 | 0.0138 (17) | 0.0109 (17) | 0.0200 (17) | 0.00173 (7) | 0.0050 (7) | 0.00074 (8) |
H1A_1 | 0.03806 | 0.02850 | 0.02819 | 0.00013 | 0.00490 | −0.00582 |
H1B_1 | 0.01940 | 0.02783 | 0.06451 | 0.00500 | 0.01117 | −0.00328 |
H1C_1 | 0.04687 | 0.02548 | 0.04331 | −0.00255 | 0.02451 | 0.00657 |
C2_1 | 0.0117 (17) | 0.0169 (17) | 0.0144 (17) | −0.00132 (8) | 0.0015 (7) | −0.00002 (8) |
H2A_1 | 0.02898 | 0.02586 | 0.03330 | 0.00532 | 0.00771 | −0.00734 |
H2B_1 | 0.03763 | 0.02871 | 0.02874 | −0.00259 | −0.00022 | 0.01429 |
H2C_1 | 0.02266 | 0.04423 | 0.03432 | −0.00568 | 0.01424 | −0.00355 |
C3_1 | 0.0094 (17) | 0.0095 (17) | 0.0106 (17) | −0.00046 (6) | 0.0034 (7) | 0.00024 (6) |
C4_1 | 0.0099 (17) | 0.0105 (17) | 0.0094 (17) | −0.00112 (7) | 0.0038 (7) | −0.00064 (6) |
N1_1 | 0.0098 (17) | 0.0101 (17) | 0.0124 (17) | 0.00041 (6) | 0.0025 (7) | 0.00062 (6) |
N2_1 | 0.0124 (17) | 0.0093 (17) | 0.0162 (17) | −0.00065 (7) | 0.0022 (7) | −0.00009 (7) |
N3_1 | 0.0109 (17) | 0.0114 (17) | 0.0097 (17) | −0.00213 (6) | 0.0031 (7) | 0.00037 (6) |
N4_1 | 0.0153 (17) | 0.0170 (17) | 0.0119 (17) | −0.00590 (9) | 0.0062 (7) | −0.00480 (8) |
N5_1 | 0.0143 (17) | 0.0148 (17) | 0.0105 (17) | −0.00329 (8) | 0.0061 (7) | −0.00091 (7) |
H2D_1 | 0.01841 | 0.02136 | 0.02275 | −0.00181 | 0.00153 | −0.00257 |
H2E_1 | 0.01914 | 0.02167 | 0.02910 | 0.00510 | 0.00004 | 0.00393 |
H4A_1 | 0.03162 | 0.03382 | 0.02115 | −0.01024 | 0.01745 | −0.00491 |
H4B_1 | 0.02581 | 0.02745 | 0.02492 | −0.01012 | 0.01526 | −0.00355 |
H5A_1 | 0.02885 | 0.02771 | 0.02149 | −0.00867 | 0.01146 | −0.00961 |
H5B_1 | 0.02832 | 0.02788 | 0.02519 | −0.01165 | 0.01491 | −0.00558 |
Geometric parameters (Å, º) top
C1_1—N1_1 | 1.4590 (4) | C3_1—N2_1 | 1.3372 (4) |
C1_1—H1C_1 | 1.0761 (18) | C4_1—N3_1 | 1.3331 (3) |
C1_1—H1A_1 | 1.0764 (17) | C4_1—N5_1 | 1.3397 (3) |
C1_1—H1B_1 | 1.0775 (17) | C4_1—N4_1 | 1.3407 (4) |
C2_1—N1_1 | 1.4565 (5) | N2_1—H2D_1 | 1.0129 (18) |
C2_1—H2C_1 | 1.0750 (18) | N2_1—H2E_1 | 1.0159 (18) |
C2_1—H2A_1 | 1.0766 (17) | N4_1—H4A_1 | 1.0132 (18) |
C2_1—H2B_1 | 1.0774 (17) | N4_1—H4B_1 | 1.0145 (18) |
C3_1—N1_1 | 1.3376 (4) | N5_1—H5B_1 | 1.0141 (18) |
C3_1—N3_1 | 1.3545 (4) | N5_1—H5A_1 | 1.0144 (18) |
| | | |
N1_1—C1_1—H1C_1 | 108.9 (3) | H2A_1—C2_1—H2B_1 | 107.9 (5) |
N1_1—C1_1—H1A_1 | 108.9 (3) | N1_1—C3_1—N3_1 | 122.40 (3) |
N1_1—C1_1—H1B_1 | 107.9 (3) | N1_1—C3_1—N2_1 | 120.43 (2) |
H1C_1—C1_1—H1A_1 | 110.8 (5) | N3_1—C3_1—N2_1 | 116.86 (2) |
H1C_1—C1_1—H1B_1 | 110.3 (5) | N3_1—C4_1—N5_1 | 123.79 (2) |
H1A_1—C1_1—H1B_1 | 110.0 (5) | N3_1—C4_1—N4_1 | 118.11 (2) |
N1_1—C2_1—H2C_1 | 110.8 (3) | N5_1—C4_1—N4_1 | 118.02 (2) |
N1_1—C2_1—H2A_1 | 110.8 (3) | H2D_1—N2_1—H2E_1 | 119.0 (5) |
N1_1—C2_1—H2B_1 | 108.9 (3) | H4A_1—N4_1—H4B_1 | 119.6 (5) |
H2C_1—C2_1—H2A_1 | 109.1 (5) | H5B_1—N5_1—H5A_1 | 119.8 (5) |
H2C_1—C2_1—H2B_1 | 109.3 (5) | | |
| | | |
C1_1—N1_1—C3_1—N3_1 | −6.99 (4) | C3_1—N3_1—C4_1—N5_1 | −23.70 (5) |
C1_1—N1_1—C3_1—N2_1 | 166.42 (4) | C3_1—N3_1—C4_1—N4_1 | 159.81 (3) |
C1_1—N1_1—C2_1—H2C_1 | −83.3 (7) | C4_1—N3_1—C3_1—N1_1 | −53.77 (4) |
C1_1—N1_1—C2_1—H2A_1 | 155.5 (8) | C4_1—N3_1—C3_1—N2_1 | 132.60 (6) |
C1_1—N1_1—C2_1—H2B_1 | 36.9 (7) | N1_1—C3_1—N2_1—H2D_1 | −1.1 (7) |
H1A_1—C1_1—N1_1—C3_1 | −16.4 (6) | N1_1—C3_1—N2_1—H2E_1 | 164.9 (6) |
H1A_1—C1_1—N1_1—C2_1 | 155.3 (8) | N3_1—C4_1—N5_1—H5B_1 | 179.9 (2) |
H1B_1—C1_1—N1_1—C3_1 | −135.8 (7) | N3_1—C4_1—N5_1—H5A_1 | −7.0 (7) |
H1B_1—C1_1—N1_1—C2_1 | 36.0 (7) | N3_1—C4_1—N4_1—H4A_1 | −16.8 (7) |
H1C_1—C1_1—N1_1—C3_1 | 104.4 (7) | N3_1—C4_1—N4_1—H4B_1 | 172.3 (4) |
H1C_1—C1_1—N1_1—C2_1 | −83.8 (7) | N3_1—C3_1—N2_1—H2D_1 | 172.7 (4) |
C2_1—N1_1—C3_1—N3_1 | −178.204 (14) | N3_1—C3_1—N2_1—H2E_1 | −21.3 (8) |
C2_1—N1_1—C3_1—N2_1 | −4.79 (4) | N4_1—C4_1—N5_1—H5B_1 | −3.6 (7) |
H2A_1—C2_1—N1_1—C3_1 | −32.7 (7) | N4_1—C4_1—N5_1—H5A_1 | 169.5 (5) |
H2B_1—C2_1—N1_1—C3_1 | −151.3 (8) | N5_1—C4_1—N4_1—H4A_1 | 166.5 (6) |
H2C_1—C2_1—N1_1—C3_1 | 88.5 (7) | N5_1—C4_1—N4_1—H4B_1 | −4.4 (8) |
Hydrogen-bond geometry (Å, º) top
D—H···A | D—H | H···A | D···A | D—H···A |
C1_1—H1A_1···C4_1 | 1.0764 (17) | 2.485 (6) | 2.9931 (6) | 107.7 (3) |
C1_1—H1A_1···N3_1 | 1.0764 (17) | 2.423 (6) | 2.8477 (5) | 102.0 (3) |
N2_1—H2D_1···Cl1_2 | 1.0129 (18) | 2.311 (3) | 3.2756 (5) | 158.8 (2) |
N5_1—H5A_1···N3_1i | 1.0144 (18) | 1.948 (2) | 2.9556 (4) | 171.77 (12) |
N5_1—H5B_1···Cl1_2ii | 1.0141 (18) | 2.633 (6) | 3.3080 (3) | 124.0 (3) |
N4_1—H4A_1···Cl1_2iii | 1.0132 (18) | 2.436 (4) | 3.3104 (3) | 144.1 (2) |
N2_1—H2E_1···Cl1_2iv | 1.0159 (18) | 2.263 (3) | 3.2619 (5) | 167.22 (18) |
N4_1—H4B_1···Cl1_2v | 1.0145 (18) | 2.237 (2) | 3.2350 (4) | 167.58 (15) |
Symmetry codes: (i) x, −y+3/2, z−1/2; (ii) −x+1, y+1/2, −z+1/2; (iii) −x+1, y+1/2, −z+3/2; (iv) −x+1, −y+1, −z+1; (v) x+1, −y+3/2, z+1/2. |