Inclusion Complexes of Gossypol with 2-Pentanone, 3-Pentanone, and 2-Hexanone

Inclusion complexes of gossypol with 2-pentanone, 3-pentanone, and 2-hexanone were prepared by crystallization from the corresponding ketone and hexane, and their structures were determined by low-temperature X-ray diffraction. All three compounds crystallize in monoclinic systems and have a 2:1 gossypol-to-solvent molar ratio. Both gossypol–pentanone complexes crystallize in C2/c space groups, and the solvent cavities in these structures have C₂ symmetry. The 3-pentanone molecule, which has C₂ symmetry, sits symmetrically within the cavity, while the 2-pentanone molecule, which lacks C₂ symmetry, takes two equally probable orientations within the cavity. Both structures are similar to previously reported gossypol inclusion complexes formed with small esters and 3-hexanone. The distal positioning of the carbonyl group in 2-hexanone does not allow it to fit into the same solvent cavity that exists in the pentanone structures. In the gossypol-2-hexanone complex, the solvent cages are skewed, and the C₂ site symmetry is lost. As a result, the structure crystallizes in a Cc space group and has a larger asymmetric unit and unit cell. Although the 2-hexanone structure retains many of the features of the gossypol–pentanone complexes, this is the first report of a gossypol inclusion compound with this extended structure.