What is Westphalen-Lettré rearrangement?
The Westphalen-Lettré rearrangement refers to a chemical reaction that involves the dehydration of derivatives of 5-hydroxycholesterol, along with the migration of the C-10 to C-5 methyl group in compounds containing a β-substituent at the C-6 position.
References
- Westphalen, T. (1915), Über die Einwirkung von Benzopersäure auf Cholesterin. [On the effect of benzoperic acid on cholesterol.] Ber. Dtsch. Chem. Ges., 48: 1064-1069. https://doi.org/10.1002/cber.191504801149
- Lettré, H. and Müller, M. (1937), Einige Umsetzungen am Cholestantriol. [Some conversions on cholestantriol.] Ber. Dtsch. Chem. Ges. A/B, 70: 1947-1952. https://doi.org/10.1002/cber.19370700918
Full Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Granada, with a long-standing research career in Computational Chemistry and molecular modeling and design.