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Updated: Jul 27, 2026

One-pot Microwave-assisted Conversion of Anomeric Nitrate-esters to Trichloroacetimidates
Published on: January 15, 2018
Rapid hydrogenation of unsaturated sterols and bile alcohols using microwaves
B Dayal1, N H Ertel, K R Rapole
1Medical Service, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, East Orange, New Jersey 07018, USA.
Abstract:
This paper describes an operationally simple, rapid hydrogenation of unsaturated sterols and bile alcohols in a domestic microwave oven. This has been achieved by the addition of catalytic amounts of Pd/C in methylene chloride/propylene glycol solvents in the presence of ammonium formate followed by microwave irradiation. It is suggested that this methodology will be helpful in the identification of saturated and unsaturated sterols with different side-chain structures in rare diseases: sitosterolemia, cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX), as well as atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus. Sterols, such as cholesterol, campesterol, sitosterol, and bile alcohols with unsaturated side chains, were converted to their reduced congeners with high yield and purity.
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