Demethylations

C,flH2o02- White crystals, m.p. 168-171 °C. Prepared from deoxyanisoin by ethylation, conversion to the alcohol, dehydration and demethylation. It is an oestrogenic substance which is highly active when administered orally. It is used for treating menopausal symptoms, for the suppression of lactation and for treatment of cancer of the prostate. 

The 7-chloro-derivative, the first of the group to be isolated (1948) is known as chlortetracy-cline. The 5-hydroxy-derivative is oxytetracy-dine. More recently introduced tetracyclines are 6-demethyl-7-chlorotetracycline and 5-hydroxy-6-deoxy-6-methyienetetracycline. 

The achiral triene chain of (a//-rrans-)-3-demethyl-famesic ester as well as its (6-cis-)-isoiner cyclize in the presence of acids to give the decalol derivative with four chirai centres whose relative configuration is well defined (P.A. Stadler, 1957 A. Escherunoser, 1959 W.S. Johnson, 1968, 1976). A monocyclic diene is formed as an intermediate (G. Stork, 1955). With more complicated 1,5-polyenes, such as squalene, oily mixtures of various cycliz-ation products are obtained. The 18,19-glycol of squalene 2,3-oxide, however, cyclized in modest yield with picric acid catalysis to give a complex tetracyclic natural product with nine chiral centres. Picric acid acts as a protic acid of medium strength whose conjugated base is non-nucleophilic. Such acids activate oxygen functions selectively (K.B. Sharpless, 1970). 

ANTTBIOTTCS - NUCLEOSIDES AND NUCLEOTIDES] (Vol 3) 6-Deoxy-6-demethyl-6a-fluorotetracycline [24333-20-8]... 

The biosynthesis of the fortimicins has received some initial study (220—222) and a significant amount of semisynthetic modification has been carried out in this series. 3-0-Demethylfortimicin A (223,224) was found to be significantly more potent than the parent fortmicin A, especially against P aeruginosa 3-0-Demethyl-2-epi-, 2,3-di-epi-, and 3-0-demethyl-2,3-di-epi-fortimicin A are somewhat less active than fortimicin A, but the... 

Whereas 2-deoxy-fortimicin A has full antibacterial activity (205), and the 2-deoxy-3-demethoxy- derivative is even more active than fortimicin A (236), the 2,5-dideoxy derivative has poor activity, as do the 2-deoxy-2-chloro and the 2,5-dideoxy-4,5-dehydro derivatives. The 2-amino-3-0-demethyl-2-deoxy analogue has quite good activity (229). 

A51568A (A/-demethyl-vancomycin), B Nocardia orientalis N RRL 15232 1982 Lilly 39,40... 

Water-soluble sdanols such as (1) were found to undergo successive oxidative demethylations with tropospheric ultraviolet irradiation in the presence of suitable chromophores, such as nitrogen oxides (516). The water-soluble methylated sdicones did not promote diatom (Nap cu/apelliculosd) growth but the demethylated photo products did. The sequence of sod-induced degradation of sdicones to water-soluble species such as (1), followed by light-induced conversion to sdicate, suggests a pathway, conceptually at least, for the mineralization of sdicones. 

Desipramine [50-47-5] (35) and nortriptyline [72-69-5] (36) are demethylated derivatives and principal metaboHtes of (32) and (33), respectively. Both compounds possess less sedative and stronger psychomotor effects than the tertiary amine counterparts, probably because tricycHcs containing secondary amine groups generally show greater selectivity for inhibiting the reuptake of norepinephrine compared with the reuptake of serotonin. Protriptyline [438-60-8] (37), a stmctural isomer of nortriptyline, is another important secondary amine that displays a similar clinical profile. 

Because much toluene is demethylated for use as benzene, considerable effort has been expended on developing processes in which toluene can be used in place of benzene to make directiy from toluene the same products that are derived from benzene. Such processes both save the cost of demethylation and utilize the methyl group already on toluene. Most of this effort has been directed toward manufacture of styrene. An alternative approach is the manufacture of i ra-methylstyrene by selective ethylation of toluene, followed by dehydrogenation. Resins from this monomer are expected to displace... 

Miscellaneous Derivatives. Other derivatives of toluene, none of which is estimated to consume more than ca 3000 t (10 gal) of toluene aimuaHy, are mono- and dinitrotoluene hydrogenated to amines ben2otrich1 oride and chlorotoluene, both used as dye intermediates / 7-butylben2oic acid from / 7-butyltoluene, used as a resin modifier dodecyltoluene converted to a ben2yl quaternary ammonium salt for use as a germicide and biphenyl, obtained as by-product during demethylation, used in specialty chemicals. Toluene is also used as a denaturant in specially denatured alcohol (SDA) formulas 2-B and 12-A. 

On distillation at atmospheric pressure, vanillin undergoes partial decomposition with the formation of pyrocatechol. This reaction was one of the first to be studied and contributed to the elucidation of its stmcture. Exposure to air causes vanillin to oxidize slowly to vanillic acid. When vanillin is exposed to light in an alcohoHc solution, a slow dimerization takes place with the formation of dehydrodivanillin. This compound is also formed in other solvents. When fused with alkaU (eq. 3), vanillin (I) undergoes oxidation and/or demethylation, yielding vanillic acid [121 -34-6] (8) and/or protocatechaic acid (2). 

Fig. 1. Tetracycline (1) and its derivatives chlortetracycline (7-chlorotetracycline) (2) oxytetracycline (5-hydroxytetracycline) (3), demeclocycline (6-demethyl-7-chlorotetracycline) (4) methacycline (6-demethyl-6-deoxy-5-hydroxy-6-methylenetetracycline) (5) doxycycline (6a-deoxy-5-hydroxytetracycline) (6) and minocycline (6-demethy1-6-deoxy-7-dimethy1 amino tetracycline) (7). Substituents at positions not specifically...

The 6- uoro isomers, 6-deoxy-6-demethyl-6a- uorotetracycline [24333-20-8] C2 H2 FN20y, and 6-deoxy-6-demethyl-6P- uorotetracycline [24333-21-9] C2 H2 FN202, have been prepared and showed relatively high in vitro and in vivo biological activities compared to the parent tetracyclines. 

Another important use of BCl is as a Ftiedel-Crafts catalyst ia various polymerisation, alkylation, and acylation reactions, and ia other organic syntheses (see Friedel-Crafts reaction). Examples include conversion of cyclophosphasenes to polymers (81,82) polymerisation of olefins such as ethylene (75,83—88) graft polymerisation of vinyl chloride and isobutylene (89) stereospecific polymerisation of propylene (90) copolymerisation of isobutylene and styrene (91,92), and other unsaturated aromatics with maleic anhydride (93) polymerisation of norhornene (94), butadiene (95) preparation of electrically conducting epoxy resins (96), and polymers containing B and N (97) and selective demethylation of methoxy groups ortho to OH groups (98). 

An a-demethylated product (81) is formed unexpectedly when the tetrasubstituted pyrrole... 

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