Electronic structure of testosterone: A semiempirical and ab initio assessment

Abstract

Testosterone (17β-hydroxy-4-androsten-3-one) was studied by the semiempirical AM1 and PM3 and ab initio STO-3G*, 3–21G*, and 6–31G* methods. The goals were to compare those methods and to know the electronic structure of the hormone. Full geometry optimization was performed, and two crystal conformers (T1 and T2), and experimental dipole moment in solution were used for comparison. One conformer with a dipole moment similar to the solvated conditions was generated. Total energy, entalphies, dipole moments, charges, electrostatic potentials, and highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) were calculated. Root-mean-square (RMS) index of the theoretical molecules against T1 and T2 showed best results with the 3–21G* and 6–31G* methods, while AM1 gave better energies than PM3. Dipole moments were directed toward the OH group and the botton face of the A ring. The frontier orbitals were located along the C4–C5 π bond, particularly the LUMO was split between C4 and C5, predicting the action of enzymes at C5 yielding to 5α and 5β-reduced androgens. Electrostatic potentials might be also of biological importance since they are coincidental with the dipole-moment orientation. Finally, it is interesting that the solvatedlike conformer, its properties, and the OH group laid between the same group of T1 and T2 and with a total energy between the crystals and the gas phase or in vacuo conditions. This results might also explain the biology of testosterone and use them to model the hormone-receptor interaction. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.