nitrogen atmosphere 7 5 g potassium t butylate and 65 ml dry t butanol were added to a stirred solution of 2 5 g u03b4 5 oestrene 3 11 17 trione 3 17 diethylene ketal in 80 ml dry tetrahydrofuran to this mixture a solution of 2 62 g tosylmethylisocyanide in 20 ml dry tetrahydrofuran was added at room temperature and in the course of 31 2 hours after another hour stirring at room temperature the reaction mixture was poured into 1 5 l ice water and extracted with methylene chloride the extract was washed with water until neutral dried over na 2 so 4 filtrated and evaporated in vacuum until dry chromatography of the residue over neutral silicagel elution with hexane ethylacetate 1 1 and crystallization from ehter penetane have 0 9 g 11 u03b2 cyano u03b4 5 oestrene 3 17 dione 3 17 diethylene ketal m p 117 5 u00b0 118 5 u00b0 c b a solution of 0 9 g 11 u03b2 cyano u03b4 5 oestrene 3 17 dione 3 17 diethylene ketal in 20 ml dry tetrahydrofuran was added to a solution of methylmagnesiumbromide in 50 ml dry diethylether prepared from 2 g magnesium and methylbromide in a nitrogen atmosphere and at room temperature after reflux for 6 hours the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and 75.