Expedited Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of steroidal ketones by microwave irradiation.

Microwave (MW) assisted reactions are currently having considerable importance in the synthesis of organic compounds. Considering the remarkable application of Baeyer-Villiger (BV) reaction in the synthesis of natural products and steroid-peptide conjugates, we report here some of our findings of BV oxidation of carbonyl compounds with special reference to steroidal ketones under MW irradiation justifying its accelerating effect.