Esters of levonorgestrel and etonogestrel intended as single, subcutaneous-injection, long-lasting contraceptives.

An effort with the goal of discovering single-dose, long-lasting (>6 months) injectable contraceptives began using levonorgestrel (LNG)-17-ß esters linked to a sulfonamide function purposed as human carbonic anhydrase II (hCA 2) ligands. One single analog from this first series showed noticeably superior anti-ovulatory activity in murine models, and a subsequent structure-activity relationship (SAR, the relationship between a compound's molecular structure and its biological activity) study based on this compound identified a LNG-phenoxyacetic acid ester analog exhibiting longer anti-ovulatory properties using the murine model at 2 and 4 mg dose than medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA). The same ester function linked to etonogestrel (ENG) furnished a compound which inhibited ovulation at 2 mg for 60 days, the longest duration of all compounds tested at these doses. By comparison, MPA at the same dose inhibited ovulation for 32 days.

Transition state effects in the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of 5-methoxyacenaphthylene 1,2-oxide: implications for the mechanism of acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of cyclopenta[cd]pyrene 3,4-oxide.

5-Methoxyacenaphthylene 1,2-oxide (5) was synthesized by the reaction of 5-methoxyacenaphthylene with dimethyldioxirane. The rates and products from the acid-catalyzed and pH-independent reactions of 5 in 50:50 dioxane/water have been determined. The half-life of the pH-independent reaction of this very reactive epoxide in 50:50 dioxane/water is only 22 s. Acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of 5 in 50:50 dioxane/water yields 62% of cis diol 6, 37% of trans diol 7, and approximately 1% of 5-methoxy-1,2-dihydroacenaphthylen-1-one (8). The pH-independent reaction of 5 yields mostly ketone 8 (94%), along with minor amounts of cis and trans diols. The relative stabilities of cis and trans diols 6 and 7 were determined by treating either cis or trans diol with perchloric acid in water solutions and following the approach to an equilibrium cis/trans diol mixture as a function of time. At equilibrium, the ratio of cis and trans diols is 19:81, which establishes that trans diol 7 is more stable than cis diol 6. The acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of epoxide 5 therefore yields the less stable cis diol as the major product. It is concluded that transition state effects therefore selectively stabilize the transition state for attack of water on the intermediate carbocation leading to the less stable cis diol. These results suggest that transition state effects are also responsible for formation of the major cis diol in the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of cyclopenta[cd]pyrene 3,4-oxide, which has a cyclopenta-fused ring similar to that in 5.