Reactions in ammonia-toluene-tetrahydrofuran solution

The reaction mixture is diluted with 250 ml of water, the mixture is transferred to a 2 liter flask using methanol as a wash liquid, and the organic solvents are distilled at 20-25 mm using a rotary vacuum evaporator. The product separates as a solid and distillation is continued until most of the residual toluene has been removed. The solid is collected on a 90 cm, medium porosity, fritted glass Buchner funnel and washed well with cold water. After the material has been sucked dry, it is covered with a little cold methanol, the mixture is stirred to break up lumps, and the slurry is kept for 5 min. The vacuum is reapplied, the solid is rinsed with a little methanol followed by ether, and the material is air-dried to give 9.1 g (85%), mp 207-213° after sintering at ca. 198°. Reported mp 212-213°. The crude material contains 1.0-1.5% of unreduced starting material as shown by the UV spectrum. Further purification may be effected by crystallization from methanol. 

Examination of the material recovered from the mother liquors indicates that the ethynyl group is reduced in about 10% of the starting material. 

Bowers et al. using Procedure 5 obtained a 72 % yield of material, mp 195-215°, prior to crystallization of the chromatographed material. 

In a 250 ml Erlenmeyer flask covered with aluminum foil, 14.3 g (0.0381 mole) of 17a-acetoxy-3j5-hydroxypregn-5-en-20-one is mixed with 50 ml of tetra-hydrofuran, 7 ml ca. 0.076 mole) of dihydropyran, and 0.15 g of p-toluene-sulfonic acid monohydrate. The mixture is warmed to 40 + 5° where upon the steroid dissolves rapidly. The mixture is kept for 45 min and 1 ml of tetra-methylguanidine is added to neutralize the catalyst. Water (100 ml) is added and the organic solvent is removed using a rotary vacuum evaporator. The solid is taken up in ether, the solution is washed with water and saturated salt solution, dried over sodium sulfate, and then treated with Darco and filtered. Removal of the solvent followed by drying at 0.2 mm for 1 hr affords 18.4 g (theory is 17.5 g) of solid having an odor of dihydropyran. The infrared spectrum contains no hydroxyl bands and the crude material is not further purified. This compound has not been described in the literature. 

The reduction is effected exactly as in Procedure 8a but using 0.61 g (0.088 g-atom) of lithium. After the crude reaction product has been washed well on the filter with cold water, it is dissolved in ethyl acetate, the solution is filtered through the sintered glass funnel to remove iron compounds from the ammonia, and the filtrate is extracted with saturated salt solution. The organic layer is dried over sodium sulfate and the solvent is removed. The solid residue is crystallized from methanol (120 ml) using Darco. The mixture is cooled in an ice-bath, the solid is collected, rinsed with cold methanol, and then air-dried to give 12.9 g (85%), mp 129-132° reported for the tetrahydropyranyi ether of 3j5-hydroxypregn-5-en-20-one, mp 129-131°. 

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