Organic compounds, reducing agents

LiAlH4, lithium tetrahydridoaluminate ("lithium aluminium hydride . so-called) is an excellent reducing agent in ether solution for both organic and inorganic compounds it may be used to prepare covalent hydrides SiH ether, for example... 

Bromine is used in the manufacture of many important organic compounds including 1,2-dibromoethane (ethylene dibromide), added to petrol to prevent lead deposition which occurs by decomposition of the anti-knock —lead tetraethyl bromomethane (methyl bromide), a fumigating agent, and several compounds used to reduce flammability of polyester plastics and epoxide resins. Silver(I) bromide is used extensively in the photographic industry... 

Almost any nitrogen containing organic compound can be reduced to an amine The syn thesis of amines then becomes a question of the availability of suitable precursors and the choice of an appropriate reducing agent... 

Many mercury compounds are labile and easily decomposed by light, heat, and reducing agents. In the presence of organic compounds of weak reducing activity, such as amines (qv), aldehydes (qv), and ketones (qv), compounds of lower oxidation state and mercury metal are often formed. Only a few mercury compounds, eg, mercuric bromide/77< 5 7-/7, mercurous chloride, mercuric s A ide[1344-48-5] and mercurous iodide [15385-57-6] are volatile and capable of purification by sublimation. This innate lack of stabiUty in mercury compounds makes the recovery of mercury from various wastes that accumulate with the production of compounds of economic and commercial importance relatively easy (see Recycling). 

One area of research is the replacement of sulfur with selenium to enhance the potency of organic compounds in pharmaceutical apphcations. This has seldom been successflil and often the toxicity is increased. There are some exceptions, eg, selenazofurin, phenylaminoethyl selenide, ebselen, and selenotifen (64). Selenazofurin is a cytotoxic compound having antitumor properties, phenyl aminoethyl selenide is used to reduce hypertension, ebselen inhibits a variety of inflammatory and tissue damaging reactions, and selenotifen is an antiallergic agent. 

Cehte or firebrick packing for glc columns is often treated with TMCS, DMCS, or other volatile silylating agents (see Table 1) to reduce tailing by polar organic compounds. A chemically bonded methyl siUcone support is stable for temperature programming to 390°C and allows elution of hydrocarbons up to C q (20). 

---