Hydrochloric Acid → 5alpha-Pregn-2-en-20-one

Participants

Reaction Steps

The crude product 3α-toluene-p-sulphonyloxy-5α-pregnan-20-one in 30 mL of collidine was refluxed for 1.0 h. The solution was allowed to cool and then poured into cold dilute hydrochloric acid (200 mL) and extracted three times with CH2Cl2 (100 mL portions). The combined organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated. Flash chromatography on a silica gel bed (100 g) and elution with hexane/ethyl acetate (80:20) gave 4.65 g (97% yield for the two steps) of 5α-pregn-2-ene-20-one.

Provenance & Evidence