Demethylation of tertiary methylamine

The oxidation of N-methylamines provides various useful methods for organic synthesis. Selective demethylation of tertiary methylamines can be carried out by the ruthenium-catalyzed oxidation and subsequent hydrolysis (Eq. 3.71). This is the first synthetically practical method for the N-demethylation of tertiary amines. The methyl group is removed chemoselectively in the presence of various alkyl groups. 

The photooxidation of tertiary methylamines sensitized by electron acceptors such as 9,10-dicyanoanthracene in the presence of lithium perchlorate results in demethylation thus tropinone yields nortropinone257. Photoinduced cyanation of tertiary amines with oxygen, a sensitizer and trimethylsilyl cyanide results in a-cyano nitriles (equation 88)258. 

Selective oxidative demethylation of tertiary methyl amines is one of the specific and important functions of cytochrome P-450. Novel cytochrome P-450-type oxidation behavior with tertiary amines has been found in the catalytic systems of low-valent ruthenium complexes with peroxides. These systems exhibit specific reactivity toward oxidations of nitrogen compounds such as amines and amides, differing from that with RUO4. It was discovered in 1988 that low-valent ruthenium complex-catalyzed oxidation of tertiary methylamines 53 with f-BuOOH gives the corresponding a-(f-butyldioxy)alkylamines 54 efficiently (Eq. 3.70) [130]. The hemiaminal type 54 product has a similar structure to a-hydroxymethylamine intermediate derived from the oxidation with cytochrome P-450. 

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