Methane → Dehydroepiandrosterone

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

DHEA was prepared from DHEA acetate (obtained from Diosynth, Chicago, Ill. or Berlichem, Montville, N.J.) by saponification using potassium carbonate in methanol. The product was dissolved in 6 parts methanol at reflux, and charcoal was added and removed by filtration. The methanol was evaporated until a volume of 3 parts remained, and the solution was cooled to 15° C., maintained at this temperature for 1 hour, and filtered. The wet product was refluxed with 8.5 parts of water to remove the methanol, filtered, and dried under vacuum at 90° C. The loss on drying specification for the final product was ≦0.5%, and the specification for residual methanol was ≦0.01%.

Provenance & Evidence