The self-assembling zwitterionic form of L-phenyl­alanine at neutral pH

The zwitterion of L-phenyl­alanine was characterized using synchrotron X-rays. It crystallized in the monoclinic space group P2₁ with four mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit. The 0.62 Å resolution structure was obtained in the same configuration as that assumed to be adopted in the self-assembly of nanotubes.