Cocrystal engineering has become of such great importance in the field of pharmaceuticals that a particular subdivision of multicomponent cocrystals has been given the term pharmaceutical cocrystals to refer to a solid cocrystal former component and a molecular or ionic API (active pharmaceutical ingredient). However, other classifications also exist when one or more of the components are not in solid form under ambient conditions. For example, if one component is a liquid under ambient conditions, the cocrystal might actually be deemed a cocrystal solvate as discussed previously. The physical states of the individual components under ambient conditions is the only source of division among these classifications. The classification naming scheme of the cocrystals might seem to be of little importance to the cocrystal itself, but in the categorization lies significant information regarding the physical properties, such as solubility and melting point, and the stability of APIs.
The objective for pharmaceutical cocrystals is to have properties that differ from that expected of the pure APIs without making and/or breaking covalent bonds.
Among the earliest pharmaceutical cocrystals reported are of sulfonamides. The area of pharmaceutical cocrystals has thus increased on the basis of interactions between APIs and cocrystal formers. Most commonly, APIs have hydrogen-bonding capability at their exterior which makes them more susceptible to polymorphism, especially in the case of cocrystal solvates which can be known to have different polymorphic forms. Such a case is in the drug sulfathiazole, a common oral and topical antimicrobial, which has over a hundred different solvates. It is thus important in the field of pharmaceuticals to screen for every polymorphic form of a cocrystal before it is considered as a realistic improvement to the existing API. Pharmaceutical cocrystal formation can also be driven by multiple functional groups on the API, which introduces the possibility of binary, ternary, and higher ordered cocrystal forms. Nevertheless, the cocrystal former is used to optimize the properties of the API but can also be used solely in the isolation and/or purification of the API, such as a separating enantiomers from each other, as well and removed preceding the production of the drug.
It is with reasoning that the physical properties of pharmaceutical cocrystals could then ultimately change with varying amounts and concentrations of the individual components. One of the most important properties to change with varying the concentrations of the components is solubility. It has been shown that if the stability of the components is less than the cocrystal formed between them, then the solubility of the cocrystal will be lower than the pure combination of the individual constituents. If the solubility of the cocrystal is lower, this means that there exists a driving force for the cocrystallization to occur. Even more important for pharmaceutical applications is the ability to alter the stability to hydration and bioavailability of the API with cocrystal formation, which has huge implications on drug development. The cocrystal can increase or decrease such properties as melting point and stability to relative humidity compared to the pure API and therefore, must be studied on a case to case basis for their utilization in improving a pharmaceutical on the market.
A screening procedure has been developed to help determine the formation of cocrystals from two components and the ability to improve the properties of the pure API. First, the solubilities of the individual compounds are determined. Secondly, the cocrystallization of the two components is evaluated. Finally, phase diagram screening and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) are further investigated to optimize conditions for cocrystallization of the components.  This procedure is still done to discover cocrystals of pharmaceutical interest including simple APIs, such as carbamazepine (CBZ), a common treatment for epilepsy, trigeminal neuralgia, and bipolar disorder. CBZ has only one primary functional group involved in hydrogen bonding, which simplifies the possibilities of cocrystal formation that can greatly improve its low dissolution bioavailability.
Another example of an API being studied would be that of Piracetam, or (2-oxo-1-pyrrolidinyl)acetamide, which is used to stimulate the central nervous system and thus, enhance learning and memory. Four polymorphs of Piracetam exist that involve hydrogen bonding of the carbonyl and primary amide. It is these same hydrogen bonding functional groups that interact with and enhance the cocrystallization of Piracetam with gentisic acid, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), and with p-hydroxybenzoic acid, an isomer of the aspirin precursor salicylic acid. No matter what the API is that is being researched, it is quite evident of the wide applicability and possibility for constant improvement in the realm of drug development, thus making it clear that the driving force of cocrystallization continues to consist of attempting to improve on the physical properties in which the existing cocrystals are lacking.