Methylating agents, used

If an organic chemist wanted to put a methyl group on a nucleophile, methyl iodide would most likely be the methylating agent used. Of the methyl halides, methyl iodide has the most easily displaced leaving group because 1 is the weakest base of the halide ions. In addition, methyl iodide is a liquid, so it is easier to handle than methyl bromide or methyl chloride. The reaction would be a simple Sn2 reaction. 

OTHER COMMENTS used as a methylating agent used in testing for pyridine used in... 

METHYLATING AGENTS USED BY CHEMISTS VERSUS THOSE USED BY CELLS... 

Methylating Agents Used by Chemists versus Those Used by Cells 437... 

C14H30CI2N2O4. White powder prepared from dimethylaminoethanol and succinyl chloride, followed by methylation. Neuromuscular blocking agent used to relax skeletal muscles during certain types of surgical operation. 

The molecular weight of a polymer can be controlled through the use of a chain-transfer agent, as well as by initiator concentration and type, monomer concentration, and solvent type and temperature. Chlorinated aUphatic compounds and thiols are particularly effective chain-transfer agents used for regulating the molecular weight of acryUc polymers (94). Chain-transfer constants (C at 60°C) for some typical agents for poly(methyl acrylate) are as follows (87) ... 

Phenyl-3,6-dihydro-l,3,4-oxadiazin-2-one (50) is a high temperature blowing agent used primarily for polycarbonates (qv). It is prepared by the reaction of a-hydroxyacetophenone and methyl carbazate (52), made from hydrazine and dimethyl carbonate (175) ... 

Arguably the key step in the MGC process is the conversion of a-hydroxyisobutyramide to methyl a-hydroxyisobutyrate using methyl formate as the methylating agent. Methyl formate is made commercially by MGC via vapor-phase dehydrogenation of methanol (72). 

The reaction is mn for several hours at temperatures typically below 100°C under a pressure of carbon monoxide to minimise formamide decomposition (73). Conversions of a-hydroxyisobutyramide are near 65% with selectivities to methyl a-hydroxyisobutyrate and formamide in excess of 99%. It is this step that is responsible for the elimination of the acid sludge stream characteristic of the conventional H2SO4—ACH processes. Because methyl formate, and not methanol, is used as the methylating agent, formamide is the co-product instead of ammonium sulfate. Formamide can be dehydrated to recover HCN for recycle to ACH generation. 

Magnesium methylate is used as a drying agent for alcohols and other organic solvents and as an intermediate in various manufacturing processes, eg, for organomagnesium compounds (79), orthocarbonic esters (80), and for oxide coatings. 

Methyl bromide finds use as a methylating agent in the syntheses of agricultural and dmg chemicals. It is also used in ionization chambers, for degreasing wool, and for extracting oil from nuts, seeds, and flowers. 

Cyanohydrins are used primarily as intermediates in the production of other chemicals. Manufacture of methyl methacrylate, used to make acrylic mol ding resins and clear sheet, eg, Plexiglas acrylic sheet, from acetone cyanohydrin is the most economically important cyanohydrin process (see Methacrylic polymers). Cyanohydrins are also used as solvents in appHcations including fiber-spinning and metals refining. Cyanohydrins and derivatives reportedly act as antiknock agents in fuel oil and motor fuels and serve as electrolytes in electrolytic capacitors. 

As alkylating agent an alkyl halide, alkyl tosylate or dialkyl sulfate is used in most cases the latter type of reagent is often used in the preparation of methyl and ethyl ethers by employing dimethyl sulfate and diethyl sulfate respectively. Dimethyl sulfate is an excellent methylating agent, but is acutely toxic as well as carcinogenic." ... 

Alkylation of the 5(4)-nitro compound with methyl sulfate in nonpolar solvents affords dimetridazole (91), ° an antitrichomonal agent used in veterinary practice. Alkylation with chlorohydrin leads to metronidazole (92), a drug that has found widespread use in the treatment of vaginal trichomoniasis. Finally, alkylation by means of iv-(2-chloroethyl)morpholine affords nitrimida-zine (93),... 

Fluproquazone (97) contains a 2-quinazolinone nucleus and is found to be an analgetic agent useful in mild to moderate pain. One of the preparations involves reaetion of 2-isopropylamino-4-methyl-4 -fluoro-benzophenone (96) with potassium cyanate in hot acetic acid [27],... 

Diazomethane is a yellow gas that is toxic and explosive but that may be handled safely in solution in ether. It reacts immediately with an acid to liberate nitrogen and form the methyl ester. Its reaction with alcohols to form methyl esters requires catalysis by a Lewis acid. The procedures illustrate the use of this reagent as a methylating agent (see Chapter 17, Section III, for preparation of diazomethane). 

The major use of methyl chloride is to produce silicon polymers. Other uses include the synthesis of tetramethyl lead as a gasoline octane booster, a methylating agent in methyl cellulose production, a solvent, and a refrigerant. 

The presence of redox catalysts in the electrode coatings is not essential in the c s cited alx)ve because the entrapped redox species are of sufficient quantity to provide redox conductivity. However, the presence of an additional redox catalyst may be useful to support redox conductivity or when specific chemical redox catalysis is used. An excellent example of the latter is an analytical electrode for the low level detection of alkylating agents using a vitamin 8,2 epoxy polymer on basal plane pyrolytic graphite The preconcentration step involves irreversible oxidative addition of R-X to the Co complex (see Scheme 8, Sect. 4.4). The detection by reductive voltammetry, in a two electron step, releases R that can be protonated in the medium. Simultaneously the original Co complex is restored and the electrode can be re-used. Reproducible relations between preconcentration times as well as R-X concentrations in the test solutions and voltammetric peak currents were established. The detection limit for methyl iodide is in the submicromolar range. 

In 1994, only 15% of EPA method validations (tolerance method validation and environmental chemistry method validations) that involved GC were carried out using GC/MS. In 2002, this number is reversed in that 85% of the GC methods that were validated by both programs used GC/MS. Many of the compounds investigated in these method trials were polar compounds, and hence these compounds required derivatization in order to be amenable to GC. One common methylating agent is (trimethylsilyl)diazomethane, which is used, for example, to methylate the sulfonamide flumetsulam. As opposed to HPLC/MS, where derivatization is often not necessary, the GC/MS procedure involves an extra step to methylate this compound, under dry conditions, prior to determination by GC/MS. 

The results obtained indicate that in the reaction between phenol and methanol, formaldehyde is the trae methylating agent when basic catalysts are used. This indicates that the type of transformation occurring with methanol is the factor that mainly differentiates performances in phenol methylation when catalyzed by either basic or acid catalysts. The catalyst plays its role in the generation of the methylating species the nature of the latter then determines the type of phenolic products obtained. 

Deficiency of thiopurine S-methyl transferase (TPMT) is another phenotype that exhibits inter-ethnic differences in frequency. TPMT is an enzyme that catalyzes methylation of therapeutic agents used in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, rheumatoid arthritis, and autoimmune/inflammatory diseases, as well as in organ transplantation. Patients who have TPMT deficiency experience less efficient methylation and are at greater risk of fatal toxicity when treated with standard doses of fhiopurines. TPMT phenotype is defined by erythrocyte 6-mercapto-purine methylation. African American populations exhibit a 20% lower erythrocyte TPMT than Caucasian Americans, and persons of Chinese descent tend to exhibit greater activity than either of these other American subpopulations. 

---