RESUMEN
The effects of mechanical treatment and various storage conditions on the structure of cyclophosphamide monohydrate were evaluated by thermal and X-ray analyses and molecular modeling. The monohydrate form of cyclophosphamide was found to convert to the anhydrous form through a metastable phase. Metastable forms were produced by mechanical treatment and by desiccation. These forms could be detected in differential scanning calometric thermograms as endothermic peaks, at approximately 39 degrees C, and X-ray powder diffractometric analysis, e.g.; by a characteristic reflection at 15.3 degrees (2 theta). Molecular modeling was used to study molecular interactions and putative metastable structures. The dehydration enthalpies of the cyclophosphamide monohydrate obtained from quantum chemical calculations and DSC analysis were 51.6 and 36.1 J/g, respectively. In a unit cell of the stable monohydrate, a water molecule is held by O(7) of the cyclophosphamide molecule and N(6)H of a neighboring cyclophosphamide molecule, with hydrogen bonds enabling existence of a water tunnel. The metastable form of cyclophosphamide is detected when a sterically formed block in the possible tunnel is removed, and the water molecules are allowed to leave the system one by one.