Translational energy release and stereochemistry of steroids. VIII‐The mechanism of the elimination of water from metastable ions in epimeric 3‐hydroxy steroids of the 5α‐series

The mechanism of water elimination from metastable molecular, [M − CH3˙]+ and [M − ring D]+˙ ions of epimeric 3‐hydroxy steroids of the 5α‐series has been elucidated. Deuterium labelling, the measurement of the translational energy released during the loss of water, and collision‐induced decomposition mass‐analysed kinetic energy spectrometry were the techniques used. It was found that the mechanisms of water loss from metastable M+˙ and [M − ring D]+˙ ions is different from that from [M − CH3˙]+ ions.