6-Methylideneandrost-4-ene-3,17-dione

Abstract

In the title compound, C20H26O2, which is the 6-methylene derivative of androstenedione and a synthetic percursor of exemestane, the steroid A ring approximates to a sofa (or envelope) conformation, with the methylene group adjacent to the link to the B ring lying out of the plane of the other atoms. The B and C rings have slightly flattened chair conformations and the D ring is an envelope, with the CH group forming the flap. In the crystal, molecules are linked by two distinct C—H...O hydrogen bonds, involving acidic H atoms close to C=C and C=O double bonds.