Toxic agents fluorine

Caution Like all alkylating agents, fluorinated alkenes should be treated as being potentially toxic [62, 63]. For example, perfluoroisobutene is an extreme case and should be avoided.)... 

All fluorinating agents should be considered toxic in different amounts and, therefore, handled accordingly Nonvolatile fluorides, however, are not too dangerous in this respect, because it is unlikely that they will be swallowed or that they will penetrate into the blood stream What is extremely dangerous is inhalation of volatile fluorides, that is, gases, liquids, or solids with considerable vapor pressure Such fluorides are indicated in the tables in this chapter... 

Difluorodiphenyl disulfide, when tested on woolen swatches, is an outstanding knockdown agent and toxicant for body lice. Several compounds with p-fluorinated phenyl radicals have exhibited the same order of activity against lice, but too few compounds with the disulfide linkage have been tested to warrant an appraisal of its effect here. 

Caution Phenylsulfur trifluoride and by-products (e.g., hydrogen fluoride from hydrolysis) are toxic, and all manipulations should be carried out in a good hood. Silva difluoride is a powerful oxidative fluorinating agent and reacts vigorously with many organic materials. These reagents should not be allowed to come in contact with the skin. 

However, the fact that industrial applications of polymer surface fluorination employ a fluorine/nitrogen mixture as the fluorinating agent complicates matters because fluorine gas is toxic, may explode when brought into contact with organic substances, and causes severe bums on human tissue. Moreover, the use of fluorine requires highly qualified personnel and special safety systems. 

Vinflumine (Javlor ) is a second-generation Vinca alkaloid. It is more active than the nonfluorinated parent compound (vinorelbine) in several cancers (Figure 8.7). Vinflumine is currently in Phase III clinical trials as a chemotherapeutic agent against a variety of cancers (metastasic breast cancer, small cell lung cancer, and bladder cancer). This drug inhibits mitotic assembly, via inhibition of tubulin polymerization in microtubules, a major element of the cytoskeleton. Effects of fluorine substimtion on tubulin affinity or on metabolism are not responsible for the increased efficiency and decreased toxicity. The synthesis of vinflumine is reported in Chapter 4. ... 

In general, the chlorinated and the mixed analogs are more toxic than those containing only fluorine as a halogen.6,204 Further, there exists a direct relationship between toxicity and reactivity towards nucleophilic agents. -Isomers are, in general, more toxic than Z-isomers. 

Trifluoromethyl hypofluorite is generally used at low temperatures with reactants dissolved in an inert solvent, but to increase the solubility of reactants a cosolvent (MeOH, acetone, THF) is often used however, it must be used with extra caution and appropriate safety precautions against explosions and fires, since trifluoromethyl hypofluorite is a powerful oxidizing agent. The toxicity of trifluoromethyl hypofluorite is expected to be high (as with fluorine). Fluori-nation reactions with trifluoromethyl hypofluorite have been discussed in the last twenty years in review papers6 11,65 and several monographs.12" 14... 

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