(±)-4,12,15,18,26-Pentahydroxy-13,17-dioxaheptacyclo[14.10.0.03,14.04,12.06,11.018,26.019,24]hexacosa-1,3(14),6(11),7,9,15,19,21,23-nonaene-5,25-dione methanol disolvate

The title compound, C24H14O9·2CH3OH, displays a chair-shaped form. The two dihydroindenone ring systems are located above and below the central fused-ring system, the dihedral angles between the mean planes of dihydroindenone ring systems and the mean plane of central fused-ring system are 67.91 (5) and 73.52 (4)°, respectively. In the crystal, extensive O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and C—H⋯π interactions link the molecules into a three-dimensional supramolecular architecture.

The title compound, C 24 H 14 O 9 Á2CH 3 OH, displays a chairshaped form. The two dihydroindenone ring systems are located above and below the central fused-ring system, the dihedral angles between the mean planes of dihydroindenone ring systems and the mean plane of central fused-ring system are 67.91 (5) and 73.52 (4) , respectively. In the crystal, extensive O-HÁ Á ÁO hydrogen bonds, weak C-HÁ Á ÁO hydrogen bonds and C-HÁ Á Á interactions link the molecules into a three-dimensional supramolecular architecture. Mo K radiation = 0.11 mm À1 T = 295 K 0.20 Â 0.13 Â 0.08 mm
This project was supported financially by a joint grant from The Israel Atomic Energy Commission and The Israel Council of Higher Education.

Introduction
Kim's synthesis of a novel cavitand by a one pot reaction between phloroglucinol and ninhydrin has been extended creating a new class of bowl-shaped compounds, which we have named Vasarenes (Almog et al., 2009). An isomeric form of the vasarene above, possessing a cup-shaped form has been reported in the past (Mahmood et al., 2011). Under our synthetic conditions only a chair-shaped form could be obtained. Quantum chemical DFT calculations show a small energy difference (less than 0.5 kcal/mol) between these two isomers.

Results and discussion
The content of the unit cell is actually the basic feature which extended itself in 3D space. It includes the two RRRR/SSSS enantiomers of I, and four methanol molecules. These two enantiomers link each other by two O(9)-H···O(4) hydrogen bonds , forming a 18-member ring centered at (0.5, 0.5, 0.5). Two methanol molecules bind each other through O(10)-H···O(11) and stabilize the dimer by two extra hydrogen bonds : O(5)-H···O(10) and O(11)-H···O(9).
The same applies at the opposite side of the dimer with the other two methanol molecules. A pair of O(3)-H···O(5) hydrogen bonds, centered at (0.5, 1.0, 0.5), extend the structure in the y-direction, while a pair of O(7)-H···O (1) hydrogen bonds centered at (0.5, 0.5, 1.0) extend -in the z-direction. And finally these yz layers link themselves in the xdirection by O(1)-H···O(8) hydrogen bonds, thus completing the 3D structure. Fig. 2 describes it well.

Synthesis and crystallization
A mixture of ninhydrin (2.00 g, 11.23 mmol) and pyrogallol (0.70 g, 5.5 mmol) in acetic acid (40 ml), was stirred at 80°C for 24h. During the reaction the mixture turned brown, and a white solid precipitated. After cooling to room temperature, the solid was filtered and washed with cold acetic acid and ether. Crystallization from methanol produced colorless crystals suitable for single crystal X-ray crystallography. Yield: 1.27g, 51%, m.p. 218°C.

Refinement
Hydroxyl H atoms of methanol molecules were located in a different Fourier map and refined in riding mode with       Refinement. Refinement of F 2 against ALL reflections. The weighted R-factor wR and goodness of fit S are based on F 2 , conventional R-factors R are based on F, with F set to zero for negative F 2 . The threshold expression of F 2 > σ(F 2 ) is used only for calculating R-factors(gt) etc. and is not relevant to the choice of reflections for refinement. R-factors based on F 2 are statistically about twice as large as those based on F, and R-factors based on ALL data will be even larger.

Fractional atomic coordinates and isotropic or equivalent isotropic displacement parameters (Å 2 )
x y z U iso */U eq C1 0.6380 (