The crystals of anhydrous uric acid, 2,6,8-trioxypurine, CsH4N403, are monoclinic with four molecules in a unit cell of dimensions a= 14.464, b= 7.403, c= 6.208/~, fl= 65.10 , space group P21/a. The structure has been determined by trial-and-error methods and refined by three-dimensional least-squares computations. The final R value was 6.6 Vo. The uric acid molecule is in the triketo form. The molecules are perfectly planar and stacked nearly parallel to the (021) and (02i) planes, and are kept firmly together in a close-packed system by a perfect network of hydrogen bonds.
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Hans Ringertz (1966) studied this question.