Acetic Anhydride → (5alpha,14alpha)-3-Methoxy-17-methyl-6-oxo-4,5-epoxymorphinan-14-yl acetate

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Reaction Steps

315 g of oxycodone was refluxed with 1600 ml of acetic anhydride for one hour. After cooling the mixture to 50°, acetic anhydride and acetic acid were removed with the rotary evaporator. The solid remaining was dissolved in water and the solution was basified to pH9 with ammonia. The precipitated product was filtered off, washed with water and vacuum dried to yield 357 g of 14-acetyloxycodone (m.p. 215°-216°).

Provenance & Evidence