Sensitized Photooxygenation of Cholesterol and Pseudocholesterol Derivatives via Singlet Oxygen

3-Substituted cholesterols and 7-substituted pseudocholesterols undergo a facile photooxygenation sensitized by 9, 10-dicyanoanthracene (DCA) and lumiflavin (LF) to give similar, oppositely-positioned enol derivatives. Both steroids showed the same reaction pattern associated with the endocyclic 5- and 4-olefin units, respectively. The reaction was proposed to proceed via the ene reaction of singlet oxygen and subsequent rearrangement of the initially formed 5a-hydroperoxides.