--- title: "Salt forms and counter-ions Template | MolDraw" url: https://www.moldraw.com/templates/pharma-salt-forms/ description: "Salt forms and counter-ions template: Hydrochloride, mesylate, besylate, maleate, tosylate and sodium — the counter-ions most used to make drug salts, drawn…" lang: en publisher: Scidart Academy generated: 2026-11-13 --- [MolDraw](https://www.moldraw.com/) › [Templates](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/) › [Pharma](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/pharma/) › Salt forms and counter-ions [Pharma](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/pharma/)Premium # Salt forms and counter-ions template ![Salt forms and counter-ions template: Hydrochloride, mesylate, besylate, maleate, tosylate and sodium — the counter-ions most used to make drug salts, drawn as structures, with a reference table of which salt suits a basic or acidic drug and an example marketed salt.](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/pharma-salt-forms.webp) [Edit in MolDraw](https://www.moldraw.com/)Download with Pro Premium template. Preview and edit it free in MolDraw; downloading and exporting it is part of [MolDraw Pro](https://www.moldraw.com/pricing). Hydrochloride, mesylate, besylate, maleate, tosylate and sodium — the counter-ions most used to make drug salts, drawn as structures, with a reference table of which salt suits a basic or acidic drug and an example marketed salt. ## What the template shows - The common pharmaceutical salts, their counter-ions and an example drug for each - Common counter-ions - Chloride (HCl salt) - Salt form, counter-ion and an example - Salt form Counter-ion For a… Example drug Hydrochloride Cl⁻ basic drug fluoxetine HCl Mesylate CH₃SO₃⁻ basic drug imatinib mesylate Besylate C₆H₅SO₃⁻ basic drug amlodipine besylate Maleate ⁻OOC–CH=CH–COOH basic drug enalapril maleate Tosylate 4-CH₃C₆H₄SO₃⁻ basic drug sorafenib tosylate Sodium Na⁺ acidic drug diclofenac sodium - Most small-molecule drugs are marketed as salts: a salt can improve solubility, dissolution, stability and crystallinity without changing the active molecule. - A basic drug (amine) pairs with an acid counter-ion (HCl, mesylate, besylate, maleate, tosylate); an acidic drug (carboxylic acid) pairs with a base (sodium, potassium, calcium). - The counter-ion is chosen for pKa (a ≈ 2–3 unit gap ensures proton transfer), safety, solubility and solid-form properties. - The free form and the salt are the same drug; the dose is usually stated as the free-base (or free-acid) equivalent. - Berge, Bighley & Monkhouse, J. Pharm. Sci. 1977, 66, 1 · every part of this sheet is editable Drawn with 36 atoms, 3 shapes – every one editable in MolDraw. ## Sources - [Berge, Bighley & Monkhouse, J. Pharm. Sci. 1977, 66, 1](https://doi.org/10.1002/jps.2600660104) Review ## How to use this template 1. Press **Edit in MolDraw**. The template opens on the canvas of the free MolDraw editor. 2. Change anything: move structures, edit atoms and labels, recolour highlights or delete what you do not need. 3. Add your own structures, arrows and text next to it, or combine several templates on one page. 4. Export the drawing as PNG, SVG or PDF for slides, worksheets, theses and papers. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Salt forms and counter-ions template free? You can preview the Salt forms and counter-ions template here and open and edit it in MolDraw for free. Downloading or exporting it is part of MolDraw Pro, together with the other premium templates. ### Can I edit the Salt forms and counter-ions template? Yes. It opens as an ordinary MolDraw drawing, so every structure, arrow, label and colour can be changed, and you can add your own content around it. ### Is the chemistry checked? Every structure is checked with RDKit and every curly arrow passes MolDraw’s electron-flow audit. The sources used are listed on this page. ### Are the IC₅₀ values in the SAR table real? No. They are illustrative example values so the table can be filled in with your own data; the structures and R-group positions are checked with RDKit. ## More pharma templates [**SAR table**Free · Pharma](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/pharma-sar-table/)[**Route scheme layout**Free · Pharma](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/pharma-route-scheme-layout/)[**Med-chem reaction types**Free · Pharma](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/pharma-reaction-types/)[**Protecting groups reference**Premium · Pharma](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/pharma-protecting-groups/)[**Drug-likeness beyond the rule of five**Premium · Pharma](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/pharma-druglikeness-beyond-ro5/)[**Common ring systems in drugs**Premium · Pharma](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/pharma-ring-systems/)[**PROTAC anatomy**Premium · Pharma](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/pharma-protac-anatomy/)[**Chiral switches**Premium · Pharma](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/pharma-chiral-switches/) ## Related pages [**All Pharma templates**10 templates](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/pharma/)[**All chemistry templates**421 templates in 31 categories](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/) MolDraw Pro Download all 421 templates - Export the 335 premium templates as PNG, SVG or PDF - AI chemistry assistant - Structure scanning from images - Cloud save and teaching slides [See Pro plans](https://www.moldraw.com/pricing) Free templates stay free. 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