Two crystallographic forms and the absolute structure of 5α,14α-androstane.

5α,14α-Androstane (C19H32) crystallizes in two different polymorphic forms in the same vapor diffusion experiment. The major form (Form I) crystallizes as thin plates in the space group P21, with Z = 4. These plates are twinned along a long c axis of length 43 Å and readily suffer from radiation damage when diffracted. The minor form (Form II) crystallizes as fine needles in the space group P212121, Z = 3. In the minor form, 5α,14α-androstane cocrystallizes with 5α,14α-androstan-17-one, an oxidation product of 5α,14α-androstane. The presence of 5α,14α-androstan-17-one in the minor form of the crystals was confirmed by HR-MS. Form II can be crystallized as a pure form without the ketone impurity using a different solvent system. High level density functional theory (DFT) lattice free energy calculations were performed and show that both pure forms are isoergic within the estimated error of the calculations.