Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of the anhydrous form of the nucleoside analogue entecavir

The nucleoside analogue entecavir {systematic name: 2‐amino‐9‐(1S,3R,4S)‐4‐hydroxy‐3‐hydroxymethyl‐2‐methylenecyclopentyl]‐1,9‐dihydro‐6H‐purin‐6‐one}, C₁₂H₁₅N₅O₃, is an antihepatitis B virus drug that has been approved in the US, EU and several countries worldwide. We report here the single‐crystal structure of the anhydrous form and compare it with that of the previously reported monohydrate form Jiang & Liu (2009). Acta Cryst. E 65 , o2232]. Hirshfeld surface analysis has been employed to understand and visualize the subtle packing differences between the two crystalline forms. The results show that, compared to the previously reported hydrated form, the anhydrous crystal has significantly different intermolecular interactions and packing patterns.