A facile and high yielding synthesis of 2,2,3,4,4-d5-androsterone-beta-D-glucuronide--an internal standard in dope

A facile six-step synthesis of 2,2,3,4,4-d5-androsterone-beta-D-glucuronide (1) starting from epiandrosterone (2) in 63% yield is described and compared with several alternative synthetic pathways. Compound 1 can be used as an internal standard in screening procedures for anabolic steroids to monitor the hydrolysis step of the steroid glucuronides prior to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Thus, a time consuming solid-phase extraction step to remove possible hydrolysis inhibitors can be omitted.