title: Use of borohydride reduction in the separation of estrogen carbonyls.
abstract: The chromatographic behavior of the estrogen carbonyls, equilenin, equilin, and estrone, and their respective sodium borohydride reduction products has been studied. The separation of the 17 alpha-hydroxy reduced compounds is superior to the separations achieved for the parent carbonyls using both reversed-phase and normal-phase systems. The reductions appear quantitative by the chromatographic systems used but other work indicates that a small quantity of 17 alpha-hydroxy isomer is produced. The separations developed here have been used in the identification of 9-dehydroestrone, an impurity in estrone, and in the identification of the estrogens in a commercial aqueous suspension of estrogenic substances.
mesh_terms: D001894:Borohydrides; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004967:Estrogens / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004970:Estrone / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction
chemical_list: D001894:Borohydrides; D004967:Estrogens; D004970:Estrone