Recently there has been increasing interest in the use of microwave (MW) irradition techniques in organic synthesis. Simple extremely useful synthetic reactions have been carried out with remarkable rate enhancements in ordinary domestic microwave oven.  We have carried out rapid hydrogenation of unsaturated sterols and bile alcohols using microwaves. Facile hydrogenation of unsaturated sterols and bile alcohols to 5 a-stanols and saturated bile alcohols in an ordinary domestic microwave oven (yield 85%) helped us to elucidate the lethal atherosclerotic process associated with abnormal plasma and tissue sterols composition in the Sitosterolemia and Xanthomatosis (Sx) disease.  Microwave-induced organic reactions of bile acids, the degradation products of cholesterol have also been accomplished in our laboratory. Glycine, taurine and sarcosine conjugated bile acids were prepared under microwave irradiation conditions. Other reactions such as esterification of bile acids and chlorogenic acid/polyphenolic acids using (HfCl4 ).2THF complex were recently achieved and compared with traditional protocols. Such facile syntheses of conjugated bile acidsachieved using microwaves will facilitate further the synthesis of N-Nitroso Bile Acid Amides for mutagenicity studies.

Microwave-assisted rapid synthesis of sterols and bile acids

244th National Meeting (2012)

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