Crystal and molecular structure of allo-4-hydroxy-L-proline dihydrate

allo-4-Hydroxy-L-proline crystallizes from an aqueous solution as the dihydrate. The crystals are orthorhombic, space group P212121, with a=7.08 (2), b=22.13 (3), c= 5"20 (2) A,. The structure was solved by direct methods and refined by block-diagonal least squares. The final R for 733 observed reflexions is 0.054. The molecule exists as a zwitterion with hydroxyl and carboxyl groups cis to the pyrrolidine ring. The latter is puckered at the fl-carbon atom, which deviates by -0.54 A, from the best plane formed by the four remaining atoms. The molecules are held together by a network of hydrogen bonds, the water molecules playing a dominant role in the stability of the structure.