MONOSODIUM L-GLUTAMATE PENTAHYDRATE

The title compound, Na+.C5H8NO4-.5H(2)O, crystallizes with two indepen dent chemical units, composed of two L-glutamate anions (Glu A and Glu B), two Na+ ions and ten water molecules, per asymmetric unit. Each N a+ ion is coordinated by six water molecules in an octahedral arrangem ent. Strands of coordination octahedra sharing edges with neighbouring octahedra along the a axis are linked to one another through hydrogen bonds, forming extended layers parallel to the ac plane. Each of the Glu A and Glu B anions also forms hydrogen-bonded layers parallel to t he ac plane on either side of the Na+-water coordination layer. The cr ystal packing is dominated by stacking of this triple-layer structure.