United States Patent (19) 11 Patent Number: 4,585,591 Nitta Et Al
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United States Patent (19) 11 Patent Number: 4,585,591 Nitta et al. (45) Date of Patent: Apr. 29, 1986 (54) 17B-ETHYNYLSTEROIDs AND PROCESS 56) References Cited FOR PREPARNG SAME U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 75) Inventors: Issei Nitta, Machida; Shinichiro 3,023,206 2/1962 Burnet al. ..................... 260/239.55 Fujimori, Yokohama; Toshio Haruyama, Sagamihara; Shinya FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS Inoue, Yamato, all of Japan 845441 8/1960 United Kingdom ............. 260/397.4 73 Assignee: Mitsubishi Chemical Industries, Ltd., OTHER PUBLICATIONS Tokyo, Japan L. A. van Dijck et al., "Synthesis and Reactions of 3-Methoxy-17-Hydroxy-17-Ethynyl-1,3,5(10)-Estra 21 Appl. No.: 325,026 triene', Recueil Journal of the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society, 96,7-8, Jul.-Aug., pp. 200-205 22 Filed: Nov. 25, 1981 (1977). Primary Examiner-Elbert L. Roberts 30 Foreign Application Priority Data Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Oblon, Fisher, Spivak, Dec. 10, 1980 JP Japan ................................ 55-174065 McClelland & Maier Dec. 10, 1980 JP Japan ... ... 55-174.066 Feb. 23, 1981 JP Japan .................................. 56-25307 (57) ABSTRACT Jul. 28, 1981 (JP) Japan ................................ 56-18343 This is disclosed novel intermediates, i.e. 1743-ethynyl steroids, which are useful for the preparation of corti 51) Int. Cl. .................................................. CO7J 1/00 coids such as hydrocortisone and prednisolone, and a 52 U.S. C. ............................ 260/3974; 260/397.45; process for preparing the same. 260/239.55 C, 260/397.5; 260/397.47 58) Field of Search ......................... 260/397.4, 397.45 4 Claims, No Drawings 4,585,591 1 2 17(3-ETHYNYLSTEROIDS AND PROCESS FOR -continued PREPARING SAME CECH BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a novel intermediate for use in the preparation of corticoids (adrenocortical hor mones) such as hydrocortisone, prednisolone and the MeO like. 10 Recently, androst-4-ene-3,17-dione and androsta-1,4- Thus, according to the reported process, estrone diene-3,17-dione have been produced in a large scale methyl ether is ethynylated to give mestranol, which is then esterified with methanesulfonyl chloride. The re and inexpensively from a sterol such as cholesterol or sulting methanesulfonate ester of mestranol is hydro sitosterol with the aid of bacteria of the Mycobacterium 15 lyzed in a hydrous tetrahydrofuran solvent in the pres genus whereby various steroidal drugs such as estrone, ence of silver nitrate to give epimestranol (the 1713 testosterone, spironolactone, etc. have been produced ethynyl isomer of mestranol) in an about 80% yield. from these starting compounds. This process, however, cannot be said to be advanta On the other hand, corticoids which comprises a 20 geous from a commercial viewpoint, since the methane major portion of the steroidal drugs are still prepared sulfonate ester of a tertiary alcohol such as nestranol methanesulfonic acid ester is extremely unstable and using as an intermediate progesterone which is pro can be synthesized only by limited procedures. For duced from stigmasterol, or 16-dehydropregnenolone example, according to the procedure described in the which is produced from diosgenin, or they are prepared 25 above-mentioned article, mestranol is dissolved in tetra from bile acids via a process comprising many steps. hydrofuran and cooled to - 60° C. To the cooled solu We have carried on investigations with attention to tion is added n-butyl lithium in an amount equimolar the fact that corticoids can be prepared through fewer with the mestranol. Subsequently methanesulfonyl steps from the aforementioned androst-4-ene-3,17 chloride is added also at - 60° C. Also regarding the dione, androsta-1,4-diene-3,17-dione or androsta-4,901)- 30 post-treatment, it is suggested in the article that the desired methanesulfonate cannot be obtained in good diene-3,17-dione which has recently be produced inex yield unless the reaction mixture is worked up carefully pensively and in a large scale from 9a-hydroxy-androst at a temperature of 0° C. or below. 4ene-3,17-dione which has also recently be produced by In addition, in order to prepare 17(3-ethynyl-17a a fermentative process. 35 hydroxyandrost-4-en-3-one Ot 17p-ethynyl-17a hydroxyandrosta-1,4-dien-3-one which is useful as an BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART intermediates for the preparation of hydrocortisone or A novel technique of isomerization of 17a-ethynyl prednisolone, it is necessary to synthesize ethisterone group into 17a-ethynyl group has recently been re methanesulfonic acid ester or 17a-ethynyl-17A-hydrox ported Tetrahedron Letters, 21, 2665 (1980). 40 yandrosta-1,4-dien-3-one 176-methanesulfonic acid es ter. However, in contrast with mestranol, these steroids have a 3-carbonyl group on the ring A of the steroid skeleton, said carbonyl group being sensitive to and reactive with n-butyl lithium. Therefore, the above 45 mentioned process cannot be employed to synthesize the desired methanesulfonate of such a 3-carbonyl-con taining steroid in good yield. Thus, the above prior art process is considered to be far from satisfactory as a commercial process for the 50 preparation of steroids in that it requires an extremely low temperature of -60 C. and that it is applicable only to those steriods which are free from n-butyl lithi um-labile structural element. (1) BuLi 55 (2) MeSO2Cl SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION - a Ge. The present invention relates to novel intermediates, i.e., 1713-ethynylsteroids such as, e.g., 1713-ethynyl 17ahydroxyandrost-4-en-3one, 17B-ethynyl-17a hydroxyandrosta-1,4-dien-3-one, 176-ethynyl-17a acetoxyandrosta-1,4-dien-3-one, etc., which are useful for the preparation of corticoids such as hydrocortisone and prednisolone, and a process for preparing the same. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS MeO In one aspect, the present invention provides a 17(3- ethynylsteroid of the formula: 4,585,591 4. carbon atoms, and the aryl for R usually contains 6 to (I) about 10 carbon atoms. The steroid having the partial structural formula (II) which is used as a starting compound in this method includes sulfonic acid esters such as 3,3-ethylenedioxy 17aethynyl-17 (3-hydroxyandrost-5ene 1713-methanesul fonic acid ester, and 3,3-ethylenedioxy-17a-ethynyl 17(3-hydroxyandrosta-5,901)-diene 17(3-methanesul fonic acid ester; nitric acid esters such as 17a-ethynyl 10 1713-hydroxyandrost-4-en-3-one 1713-nitric acid ester, wherein the dotted lines represented either a single or 17a-ethynyl-17 (3-hydroxyandrosta-1,4-dien-3-one double bond, and X is hydroxyl or an acyloxy. 1713nitric acid ester and 17a-ethynyl-1713-hydroxyan The acyloxy group for X contains an acyl moiety drosta-4,901)-dien-3-one 1713-nitric acid ester, and ni having 2 to about 13 carbon atoms, usually 2 to 7 carbon trous acid esters such as 17a-ethynyl-17A-hydroxyan atoms and preferably 2 to 4 carbon atoms. 15 drost-4-en-3-one 17f8-nitrous acid ester, 17a-ethynyl The compounds of the foregoing formula (I) include 1713-hydroxyandrosta-1,4-dien-3-one 1713-nitrous acid 17(3-ethynyl-17a-hydroxyandrost-4-en-3-one, 17(3- ester and 17a-ethynyl-17(3-hydroxyandrosta-4,901). ethynyl-17a-hydroxyandrosta-1,4-dien-3-one, 17(3ethy dien-3-one 1713-nitrous acid ester. The steroid skeleton nyl-17a-hydroxyandrosta-4,901)-dien-3-one, 17(3-ethy 20 may be a 19-norsteroid such as 19-norethisterone or a nyl-17a-hydroxyandrosta-1,4,9(I)-trien-3-one, etc., as steriod the ring A of which comprises an aromatic nu well as esters of these 1713-ethynyl-17a-hydroxysteroids cleus such as mestranol. In those steriods having a car with a carboxylic acid such as acetic acid, propionic bonyl group at the 3-position, the carbonyl group may acid or benzoic acid. be protected with an acetal-, enol- or enamine-type Thus, the compounds of the formula: 25 protective group. In addition, the steroid may contain one or more substituents such as hydroxyl at the 1-, 6- or 11-position, keto at the 11-position, fluorine at the 6- or CECH (I") 9-position and methyl at the 1-, 6- or 16-position. The method (Method A) may be carried out by react 30 ing a steroid having the partial structural formula (II) with water in the presence of a catalytic amount of cuprous (i.e. monovalent copper) salt. The cuprous salt includes cuprous halides such as cuprous chloride, cuprous bromide and cuprous iodide, 35 cuprous cyanide, cuprous oxide, cuprous phosphate, cuprous acetate and the like. Usually cuprous chloride is preferably used because of its inexpensiveness. The cuprous salt is usually used in an amount of 0.01 (I") to 1.0 mole, preferably 0.05 to 0.4 mole per mole of the starting steroid. The use of much less cuprous salt than above requires a prolonged period of time to attain an adequate conversion of the starting steroid, while the use of much more cuprous salt offers no particular prob lem. 45 The reaction is conducted in a solvent which is desir ably compatible with water and which desirably has no are both included in the compounds (I) of this inven or little nucleophilicity. Suitable solvents include ethers tion. In the above formulas (I) and (I'), the dotted lines such as tetrahydrofuran, dioxane and ethylene glycol are as defined above and Z is an acyloxy group. dimethyl ether, esters such as ethyl acetate, ketones The 1713-ethynyl-17a-hydroxysteroids of formula (I) 50 such as acetone, and other highly polar aprotic solvents may be prepared by either the following method A or such as dimethylformamide, and dimethyl sulfoxide.