Simplified process for the degradation of steroid-C-22-carboxylic acids

摘要

The degradation of steroid-C22-carboxylic acids to the C20-carbonyl steroids is carried out in simplified form and preferably without isolating intermediate reaction products by using 17(20)-steroid-22-carboxylic acids as starting material and directly transforming them into the 20-carbonyl compound through their respective acid halides by the Curtius degradation or by carboxy-inversion degradation. The acetyl substituent thus formed in C17 of the steroid compounds is present in the pharmacologically required configuration.