Teijin Limited

Shimadzu Corporation

Osamu Nishikawa

Hideki Tsuruta

Toru Takeshita

Kenji Ishimaru

Itaru Yamamoto

Ryohei Kokawa

Jun-ichi Oshida

Masahiko Tomitori

An environment controllable scanning probe microscope (SPM), such as a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), atomic force microscope (AFM), etc., in which the gaseous environment of the sample during the observation is controllable. That is, the gas surrounding the sample can be replaced to a desired one and the pressure can be set to a desired value. The SPM is suited for observing biological samples because biological samples may deteriorate under a reduced pressure and the surface topography at such high magnification is vulnerable to contamination from the environment.

Environment controllable scanning probe microscope

The present invention relates to novel vitamin D.sub.3 derivatives which have a carboxyl group or its ester group at the 22-position, processes for the preparation thereof, and antigens, which comprise said vitamin D.sub.3 derivative and an immunogenic carrier material, to be used for the preparation of antibodies for enzymeimmunoassay or radioimmunoassay and antibodies obtained therefrom. The determination of such activated vitamin D.sub.3 compounds as 25-hydroxy vitamin D.sub.3, 24, 25-dihydroxy vitamin D.sub.3, etc. can be made satisfactorily according to the present invention.

Vitamin D.sub.3 derivatives, process for preparation thereof, and

The present invention relates to a novel process for the preparation of active-type vitamin D.sub.3 compounds and their intermediates. In accordance with the present invention, a large amount of an active-type vitamin D.sub.3 compounds, for example 1.alpha.-hydroxycholecalciferol, 1.alpha.,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol and the like, is efficiently prepared with high industrial advantages by a novel processes, which comprises (i) reacting hydroxycholesta-5-enes having the hydroxyl groups protected with lower alkoxycarbonyl group as a starting material with allylic brominating agent and dehydrobrominating agent to prepare the corresponding hydroxycholesta-5,7-dienes, (ii) exposing the hydroxycholesta-5,7-dienes to ultraviolet irradiation or to a combination of the irradiation with thermal isomerization to obtain a mixture of the unreacted hydroxycholesta-5,7-dienes and previtamin D.sub.3 compounds or a mixture of the unreacted hydroxycholesta-5,7-dienes and the protected active-type vitamin D.sub.3 compounds, (iii) separating the mixture into the unreacted hydroxycholesta-5,7-dienes and previtamin D.sub.3 compounds or the protected active-type vitamin D.sub.3 compounds, (iv) recycling the unreacted hydroxycholesta-5,7-dienes as reuse and (v) thermally isomerizing the remaining compounds and/or splitting off the protective groups. The process for the preparation of active-type vitamin D.sub.3 compounds, in the present invention, is of very high industrial value, capable of carrying out by simple operation and adaptable to large scale commercial production.

Process for the preparation of active-type vitamin D.sub.3 compounds

A process for producing a steroid compound having an oxo group in the side chain, which comprises condensing an acid halide having a steroid skeleton with an organozinc compound at the halocarbonyl group of the acid halide in an inert organic medium in the presence of a catalytic amount of an ether capable of forming a complex with the organozinc compound, and if desired, hydrolyzing the product. The process produces the steroid compound at a high yield, and often at an almost quantitative yield. The steroid compound is an important intermediate for the production of vitamin D.sub.3 analogs such as active forms of vitamin D.sub.3. In one preferred embodiment, an industrially advantageous process from the standpoint of operation is provided.

Process for producing steroid compounds having an oxo group in the side

This invention relates to novel 25-hydroxy-24-oxocholestane derivatives and a process for preparing them. The novel 25-hydroxy-24-oxocholestane derivatives of this invention can easily be converted to 24,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol or 1.alpha.,24,25-trihydroxycholecalciferol which is known as useful for medicine controlling the calcium metabolism of warm-blooded animals. Moreover, 25-hydroxy-24-oxocholestane derivatives can be converted to novel 25-hydroxy-24-oxocholecalciferol expressed by the following formula ##STR1## and novel 1.alpha.,25-dihydroxy-24-oxocholecalciferol of the formula ##STR2## which are useful for medicine. The new 25-hydroxy-24-oxocholestane derivatives in the present invention are very useful as the intermediates for the synthesis of a variety of active vitamin D.sub.3.

Growing community of inventors

Iwakuni, Japan

Osamu Nishikawa