Acetic Acid → 19-Acetoxy-delta(sup 1)-testosterone

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a solution of 25.6 g of 19-acetoxyandrost-4-ene-3, 17-dione in 4 liters of methanol cooled to 0° C is added 3.1 g of sodium borohydride, and the mixture is stirred at 0° C for 1 hour after which 30 ml of acetic acid is added and the methanol removed under reduced pressure. The resulting residue is taken up in ethyl acetate and washed with water. The organic layer is dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and the solvent removed. The solid residue is dissolved in 2 liters of chloroform treated with 125 g of manganese dioxide and stirred for two hours. The reaction mixture is filtered, and the solvent removed under reduced pressure. The residue is chromatographed on alumina using benzene-ether (1:1) as the eluant. The product is recrystallized from acetone-hexane to give 19-acetoxy-17β-hydroxyandrost-4-en-3-one, M.P. 125°-127° C.

Provenance & Evidence