EDITORIAL pubs.acs.org/crystal
Virtual Special Issue on Structural Chemistry in India: Emerging Themes
T
he traditional divisions of chemistry—organic, inorganic, and physical—still remain relevant to teaching programs and core activities. However, an increasing amount of chemical research today challenges such neat docketing. Chemistry has in all its complexity become more of a dialogue between synthesis, dynamics, and structure. Structural chemistry has emerged as a major endeavor, and at its intersection with synthesis and dynamics it defines many new areas among which crystal engineering and crystal growth are prominent. Structure in a chemical context refers to formalisms for the description and understanding of molecules and supramolecular assemblies, more specifically how the properties of chemical substances depend on the internal arrangement of atoms within molecules, or of molecules within supramolecular entities, such as crystals. Three approaches to determining structure have proved to be especially useful: crystallography, spectroscopy, and computation. All three are of great relevance to the subjects covered by Crystal Growth & Design. Scientific research in India is poised for exponential growth in the next decade. In general, recent years have seen a renewed concern for research, and attempts are being made to increase overall output in terms of both quality and quantity. These include the establishment of new institutions, an increase in faculty hiring and student enrolment, and the stepping up of investment at all levels. This has not yet resulted in any significant rise in research output. In particular, chemistry research in India has yet to take off visibly. However, the contributions in structural chemistry have reached a stage where a virtual special issue of Crystal Growth & Design was deemed to be a worthwhile exercise. The emphasis in the Virtual Special Issue on Structural Chemistry in India: Emerging Themes (http://pubs.acs.org/ page/cgdefu/vi/5) is, of course, in the areas of crystal engineering and crystal growth which are the domain specializations of CGD. This issue was planned last year before and during a CGDIndia Summit meeting, held at the Indian Institute of Science, in which the relevance of the Indian contribution to CGD activities was highlighted. X-ray crystallography is the major instrumental technique in crystal engineering. The funding policies of the scientific departments of the Government of India did not favor the acquisition of single crystal diffractometers by chemistry departments until around 2000. Chemical crystallography, or structural chemistry, really improved in this country only after that. Today, we have reached a stage where single crystal diffractometers ought to be funded within individual research groups. The quality and quantity of the research contributions in structural chemistry in India warrant such a progression. The growth of X-ray powder diffraction in India owes in large measure to the rise of the generic pharmaceutical industry. The pharmaceutical industry has had a major impact worldwide on the rise of crystal engineering and crystal growth. Generic pharma is particularly well developed in India, and a number of Indian papers in CGD, and in this virtual r 2011 American Chemical Society
special issue, pertain to topics such as polymorphs, solvates, and co-crystals of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Quantity comes before quality and what one needs next in the structural chemistry scenario in India is the appearance of papers that touch upon new ideas, concepts, and models. What one needs are laboratory results that can be translated into marketable products. The generic pharmaceutical industry should engage itself in a more synergistic relationship with academia, even as there should be more entrepreneurial activity from academics. Such dialogue is taken for granted in scientifically advanced countries. This culture is yet to take strong root in Asia. The economic resurgence in this part of the world has started, but this continent has been impoverished for too long and impatience levels are indeed high. The inevitable growth of research activity in India and other Asian countries needs to be viewed against this backdrop. There will be plenty of everything—good, bad, and indifferent. The real challenge that faces structural chemists in India will be to balance scientific detachment, the quest for excellence, and the hubris of the real world. G. R. Desiraju Guest Editor Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
Published: June 17, 2011 2661
dx.doi.org/10.1021/cg200570n | Cryst. Growth Des. 2011, 11, 2661–2661
