Since the Science nomination for “Breakthrough of the year 2018”,[1] electron diffraction (3D ED, known also as MicroED) for structural elucidation of organic compounds has been gaining a lot of momentum. MicroED has been rapidly evolving as a complementary technique for SC-XRD experiments.[2] Especially for those cases where single crystals of suitable size for XRD experiments are not obtained. Dedicated electron diffractometers[3] make the technique more accessible, resulting in many recent publications where these commercial electron diffractometers have been used.[4,5]
MicroED’s ease of use and its potential for various applications is presented in multiple studies, especially in the pharmaceutical industry where it is having a high impact.[6,7] We would highlight some case studies where electron diffraction has helped the pharmaceutical industry obtain structural information not available before by other means [5, 7]. Furthermore, we’ll delve and showcase other applications like:
characterization of meta-stable polymorphic forms
identifying crystallinity in amorphous solid dispersions
finding new polymorphic forms
identifying impurity polymorphic forms
impurities and phase identification using automation
