Powder diffraction study of the hydrogen bonds in nitroxoline and its hydrochloride.

The crystal structures of 8-hydroxy-5-nitroquinoline, C9H6N2O3, (I), and 8-hydroxy-5-nitroquinolinium chloride, C9H7N2O3+*Cl-, (II), have been determined from X-ray powder data. In (I), the molecules are linked via moderately strong hydrogen bonds to form dimers. Such a packing motif is likely to be responsible for the low solubility of (I) in water. In (II), the inversion-related cations form stacks, and anions fill the interstack channels.