Deoxycorticosterone-adenine interactions in a crystalline complex

Deoxycorticosterone-adenine monohydrate is the first complex involving a steroid and a component of DNA to be successfully crystallized and studied by single crystal x-ray analysis. Hydrogen bonds between O(20) and N(6) as well as O(21) and N(1) connect the corticoid side chain to an adenine molecule. The molecules are also packed such that a second adenine moiety is situated over the Δ4-3-one region of the steroid. These observations of the solid state suggest ways in which steroids and nucleic acids may interact in vivo.