Dutasteride Chemistry
Dutasteride is a synthetic 4-azasteroid compound that is a selective inhibitor of both the type 1 and type 2 isoforms of steroid 5-alpha-reductase (5AR), an intracellular enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
Dutasteride is chemically designated as (5a, 17ß)-N-{2, 5 bis(trifluoromethyl) phenyl}-3-oxo-4-azaandrost-l-ene-17-carboxamide. The empirical formula of dutasteride is C27H30F6N2O2. The molecular weight of dutasteride is 528.5.
Dutasteride is a white to pale yellow powder with a melting point of 242 to 250°C. It is soluble in ethanol (44 mg/mL), methanol (64 mg/mL) and polyethylene glycol 400 (3 mg/mL), but it is insoluble in water.