Alaninyl­tryptophan hydrate,glycyl­tryptophan dihydrate and tryptophyl­glycine hydrate

The crystal structures of the title tryptophan‐containing dipeptides, C₁₄H₁₇N₃O₃·H₂O, (I), C₁₃H₁₅N₃O₃·2H₂O, (II), and C₁₃H₁₅N₃O₃·H₂O, (III), respectively, contain at least one water mol­ecule of solvation. As a result, the crystal packing of these compounds is composed of regions of water‐mediated hydrogen bonding and tryptophan ring‐to‐ring stacking separated by the length of the mol­ecule. The tryptophan rings stack in a continuous layer that, when viewed edge‐on from the outermost part of the tryptophan ring, exhibits a herring‐bone motif. However, owing to the lack of direct overlap of adjacent rings, no degree of π contact or long‐range delocalization of ring systems is possible here. The overall molecular conformations of (I) and (III) contain a folding of one peptide over the other, such that a minimum in molecular volume occurs without any intramolecular hydrogen bonding. In these two dipeptides, extensive hydrogen bonding is observed to and from the single water mol­ecule of solvation. In the crystal structure of (II), however, an extended mol­ecule conformation complements a more extensive hydrogen‐bonding scheme involving two water mol­ecules of solvation per dipeptide.