N-{3-[Bis(2-hydroxy­ethyl)amino­meth­yl]-5-nitro­phen­yl}benzamide

The title compound, C(18)H(21)N(3)O(5), was prepared by the reaction of 3-benzamido-5-nitro­benzyl methane­sulfonate with diethano­lamine and is an inter­mediate in the synthesis of DNA minor-groove-binding polybenzamide agents capable of being conjugated to additional biologically active species. The asymmetric unit contains two independent mol­ecules, which differ only in the orientations of the hydroxy­ethyl groups. In the crystal structure, inter­molecular N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link mol­ecules into one-dimensional chains.