Photolysis of alcohol nitrites

Claim 2

A process for the preparation of a mononitrate ester of a diol whereby a nitrite ester of an alcohol having a hydrogen atom which is or is able to be conformationally adjacent to the hydroxy group and in which the atoms joining the hydrogen atom and the hydroxyl group include at least two adjacent atoms forming part of a ring, is photolysed in the presence of molecular oxygen, whereby a corresponding compound is formed in which the said hydrogen atom is replaced by a nitrooxy group.

Claim 3

A process according to claim 1 in which the photolysis is effected in a solvent selected from aromatic compounds, halogenated aromatic compounds, halogenated hydrocarbons, halogenated ethers and nitriles.

Claim 4

A process according to claim 2, in which the solvent is selected from benzene, toluene, xylene, hexafluorobenzene, chlorobenzene, the chlorotoluenes, the chloroxylenes, chloroalkanes, chlorofluoroalkanes, perfluoroalkanes, perfluoroalkylamines, perfluoromethyltetrahydrofuran and acetonitrile.

Claim 5

A process according to claim 2 in which a single phase mixture or an emulsion of two solvents is used.

Claim 6

A process according to claim 1 in which the reaction is effected at a temperature of from 40° to the freezing point of the reaction mixture.

Claim 7

A process according to claim 1 in which the reaction is effected using light of a wavelength of 300 nm or more.

Claim 8

A process according to claim 6 in which the wavelength is 300 - 380 nm.

Claim 9

A process according to claim 1 in which the starting nitrite is a steroid.

Claim 10

A process according to claim 8 in which the steroid is a nitrite ester of a 6-hydroxy-, 11-hydroxy-, 7α-hydroxy- or 20-hydroxy-steroid.

Claim 11

A process according to claim 8 in which the steroid contains substituents and double bonds selected from a keto, hydroxy or acyloxy group in the 3-position; alkyl groups in any of the 2-, 4-, 6-, 10-, 13-, 14- and 16-positions; a keto, ketal or orthoester group at the 20-position; a keto group or hydroxy and/or hydrocarbon or acyl groups at the 17-position; a hydroxy or keto group at the 11- or 12-position, a hydroxy group at the 6-, 7- or 20-position, an esterified hydroxy group at the 21-position, a double bond at 5-position or the 1- and/or 4-position and a halogen atom in the 11- or 6-position.

Claim 12

A process according to claim 8 in which the steroid is in the pregnane, lanostane, norpregnane, oestrane or cholestane series.

Claim 13

A process according to claim 1 in which the nitrate obtained is reductively cleaved to yield the corresponding alcohol.

Claim 14

A process according to claim 12 in which the reaction is effected using a source of nascent hydrogen.

Claim 15

A process according to claim 12 in which the diol mononitrate produced is subjected to further reactions selected from oxidation, dehydration, isomerisation, esterification, etherification and hydrolysis, before the nitrate group is cleaved.

Claim 16

A process according to claim 1 in which a radio-labelled hydroxy group is introduced.