Acid-catalysed ring contraction of steroidal 1α,2α-epoxy-4-en-3-ones
Abstract
The reaction of 17β-acetoxy-1α,2α-epoxy-1β-methylandrost-4-en-3-one with formic acid at 100 °C gives 17β-acetoxy-1β-methyl-A-norandrost-3-en-2-one (5) in high yields. The same reaction at room temperature leads to both the 1α,2β-dihydroxy-compound (6) and the A-nor-derivative (5). Chemical correlations allow the configuration at C-1 to be assigned.
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