Chemical synthesis of two novel diaryl ether dimers of estradiol-17beta

We recently detected the formation of estradiol-17beta (estradiol) dimers, linked together through a diaryl ether bond between the C-3 phenolic oxygen of one estradiol molecule and the 2- or 4-position aromatic carbon of another estradiol, following incubations of [3H]estradiol with human liver microsomes or cytochrome p450 enzymes in the presence of NADPH. Using estradiol as the starting material, we designed a four-step method for the chemical synthesis of these two estrogen dimers with the Ullmann condensation reaction as a key step. Step 1: Synthesis of 2- or 4-bromoestradiol from estradiol. Step 2: Protection of the C-3 phenolic hydroxyl group of the 2- or 4-bromoestradiol. Step 3: The Ullmann condensation reaction between the phenol-protected bromoestradiol and the estradiol potassium salt under our modified reaction conditions (with a 41% product yield). Step 4: Removal of the C-3 benzyl group by catalytic hydrogenation. The chromatographic and various spectrometric properties of the two synthesized compounds were identical to those metabolically formed by human cytochrome p450 3A4.