Crystal structure of the possible sulindac impurity 2-(5-fluoro-2-methyl-1H-inden-3-yl)aceto­nitrile

Abstract

The asymmetric unit of the title compound consists of two mol­ecules with nearly identical conformations. The angles between the cyanide group and the corresponding indene ring plane are 64.09 (16) and 64.72 (14)°.

The title compound,C₁₂H₁₀FN, was identified as a possible critical degradation impurity of sulindac, a therapeutic COX-2 inhibitor for rheumatoid arthritis. Single-crystal X-ray analysis revealed two conformationally slightly different mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit (Z′ = 2), each containing an indene ring system. In the crystal structure, [100] chains formed through C—H⋯N inter­actions are connected into a tri-periodic supra­molecular structure by further C—H⋯F and C—H⋯π inter­actions through P2₁/n symmetry operations.