Acetylation in aqueous solution

Excellent results may be obtained by conducting the acetylation in aqueous solution (cf. Section IV,45). Dissolve 0-5 g. of the amine in 2N hydrochloric acid, and add a little crushed ice. Introduce a solution of 5 g. of hydrated sodium acetate in 25 ml. of water, followed by 5 ml. of acetic anhydride. Shake the mixture in the cold until the smell of acetic anhydride disappears. Collect the solid acetyl derivative, and recrystallise it from water or dilute alcohol. 

Acetic anhydride, like any anhydride, reacts with water to form a carboxylic acid. How then is it possible to carry out an acetylation in aqueous solution What is the purpose of the hydrochloric acid and the sodium acetate in this reaction ... 

Although water hydrolyses acetic anhydride, amino groups and phenolic hydroxyls react much faster, and can therefore be acetylated in aqueous solution. This is the basis of the Schotten-Baumann conditions the reaction is driven by addition of sodium bicarbonate to remove the acid formed. The stirred aqueous solution of amines (or amine extract from tissues or biological fluids), totalling 4 ml, is treated with acetic anhydride (0.3 ml). A slight molar excess of sodium bicarbonate is added in small portions, letting effervescence subside each time. At the end of the reaction the products are extracted with dichloromethane (2x5 ml), and the combined extracts are blown down in a stream of nitrogen [25-27]. Similar procedures have been described for phenols [28, 29]. 

The disadvantages attending the use of acetic anhydride alone are absent when the acetylation is conducted in aqueous solution according to the following procedure. The amine is dissolved in water containing one equivalent of hydrochloric acid, slightly more than one equivalent of acetic anhydride is added to the solution, followed by enough sodium acetate to neutralise the hydrochloric acid, and the mixture is shaken. The free amine which is liberated is at once acetylated. It must be pointed out that the hydrolysis of acetic anhydride at room temperature is extremely slow and that the free amine reacts much more readily with the anhydride than does the water this forms the experimental basis for the above excellent method of acetylation. 

Phenols, unlike amines, cannot be acetylated satisfactorily in aqueous solution acetylation proceeds readily with acetic anhydride in the presence of a little concentrated sulphuric acid as catalyst. Salicylic acid (o-hydroxy-benzoic acid) upon acetylation yields acetylsalicylic acid or aspirin ... 

Bemoyl chloride may replace acetyl chloride as a class reagent it possesses the advantage that it is only very slowly decomposed by cold water and consequently may be employed for detecting alcohols even in aqueous solution. The reaction is usually carried out in aqueous solution containing sufficient caustic alkali to decompose any excess of benzoyl chloride into the water-soluble alkali benzoate (Schotten - Baumann reaction compare Section IV,52). The benzoyl esters formed are insoluble in water ... 

The Hydrate and Enol Form. In aqueous solutions, acetaldehyde exists in equihbrium with the acetaldehyde hydrate [4433-56-17, (CH2CH(0H)2). The degree of hydration can be computed from an equation derived by BeU and Clunie (31). Hydration, the mean heat of which is —21.34 kJ/mol (—89.29 kcal/mol), has been attributed to hyperconjugation (32). The enol form, vinyl alcohol [557-75-5] (CH2=CHOH) exists in equihbrium with acetaldehyde to the extent of approximately 1 molecule per 30,000. Acetaldehyde enol has been acetylated with ketene [463-51-4] to form vinyl acetate [108-05-4] (33). 

Acetate kinase is phosphorylated by acetyl phosphate and it has been shown that the phosphoenzyme can synthesise ATP from ADP, and acetyl phosphate from acetate. The mode of decomposition of carbamyl phosphate in aqueous solution is pH dependent and can proceed with either the production of ammonia and carbon dioxide (equation 1), or cyanate (equation 2). No cyanate could be detected during the hydrolysis... 

Cascade Blue acetyl azide is soluble in aqueous solution, but the reactive azide group will hydrolyze and should be used immediately in a conjugation reaction. A concentrated stock solution may be prepared in water, dissolved quickly, and an aliquot quickly added to a buffered reaction medium. For aqueous reactions, a pH range of 7-9 is optimal. Avoid amine-containing buffers. 

Photolytic. Acher et al. (1981) studied the dye-sensitized photolysis of terbacil in aerated aqueous solutions over a wide pH range. After a 2-h exposure to sunlight, terbacil in aqueous solution (pH range 3.0-9.2) in the presence of methylene blue (3 ppm) or riboflavin (10 ppm) decomposed to 3-ter/-5-butyl-5-acetyl-5-hydroxyhydantoin. Deacylation was observed under alkaline conditions (pH 8.0 or 9.2) affording 3-/er/-5-hydroxyhydantoin. In neutral or acidic conditions (pH 6.8 or 3.0) containing riboflavin, a mono-Wdealkylated terbacil dimer and an unidentified water-soluble product formed. Product formation, the relative amounts of products formed, and the rate of photolysis were all dependent upon pH, sensitizer, temperature, and time (Acher et ah, 1981). 

D-Erythrose has also been exposed to a boiling solution in pH 4.5 buffer. Low yields (<0.2%) of a number of products were obtained, as shown in Scheme 3. These included 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furaldehyde (11), 2-acetyl-5-(hydroxymethyl)furan (12), 3,4-dihydroxyacetophenone (13), 3,4-dihydroxy be nzaldehyde (14), 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (15), 2,3-dihydroxytoluene (16), and 1,2-benzenediol (pyrocatechol) (17). Also detected were formic, hydroxyacetic, and 3-hydroxypropanoic acids. Pyrocatechol seems to be a product formed from all carbohydrates boiled in aqueous solutions at pH 4-10 it may constitute a statistical product arising from retro-aldol and re-aldol reactions. It has been shown that the aldol reaction may operate at a pH as low as 4. An aldol reaction... 

Rhizobactin 1021 (Fig. 15, 56) (for rhizobactin, see diaminoalkane-based siderophores, Sect. 3.1) from Rhizobium meliloti (281), contains an acetyl and an ( )-decenoyl group. Its Fe " complex in aqueous solution is A-configured and forms an equilibrium between a monomeric and a dimeric form that can be separated by chromatography. A synthesis is described (404). 

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