Tribenzoatobismuth(III): a new ­polymorph

A new polymorph (β) was obtained for an active pharmaceutical ingredient, bis­muth tribenzoate, [Bi(C(6)H(5)CO(2))(3)]. The new β-polymorph is 1.05 times denser than the previously known polymorph [Rae et al. (1998 ▶). Acta Cryst. B54, 438–442]. In the β-polymorph, the Bi atom is linked with three benzoate anions, each of them acting as a bidentate ligand, and these assemblies with C (3) point symmetry can be considered as ‘mol­ecules’. The structure of the β-polymorph has no polymeric chains, in contrast to the previously known polymorph. The ‘mol­ecules’ in the β-polymorph are stacked along [001], so that the phenyl rings of the neighbouring mol­ecules are parallel to each other. Based on the pronounced difference in the crystal structures, one can suppose that two polymorphs should differ in the dissolution kinetics and bioavailability.