TY - JOUR AU - Keefer, Larry, K. AB - Summary Three distinct modes of protolytic dialkylnitrosamine fragmentation were observed when we followed the time dependence of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of seven nitrosamines in superacid solution: 1) In equimolar HSO3F: SbF3 (“magic acid”), dimethylnitrosamine was cleaved to the protonated Schiff base of formaldehyde and methylamine, and diethylnitrosamine was similarly converted to the protonated acetaldehyde-ethylamine Schiff base. 2) By contrast, of the five dipropyl- and dibutylnitrosamines we studied, all cleaved non-oxidatively under these conditions (with loss of nitrogen gas) to the corresponding propyl or butyl cations. The carbocations thus produced underwent condensation and fragmentation to form the tert-butyl cation as the principal product ultimately observable by NMR. 3) The third fragmentation mechanism, which involved denitrosation to the dialkylammonium ion, was observed only as a minor pathway in the sulfuric or fluorosulfuric acid protolysis of dimethylnitrosamine. The mechanisms that are postulated for these cleavage reactions, if functioning in vivo, could account for several metabolic observations that have proved difficult to reconcile with previous conceptions of nitrosamine metabolism. This content is only available as a PDF. Author notes 2 Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Ohio 44106. Address inquiries to Dr. Olah. 3 Carcinogen Metabolism and Toxicology Branch, National Cancer Institute National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, U .S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Bethesda, Md. 20014. 4 Valuable discussions with Dr. D. F. Heath are gratefully acknowledged. TI - Carcinogen Chemistry. I. Reactions of Protonated Dialkylnitrosamines Leading to Alkylating and Aminoalkylating Agents of Potential Metabolic Significance JF - JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute DO - 10.1093/jnci/54.2.465 DA - 1975-02-01 UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/carcinogen-chemistry-i-reactions-of-protonated-dialkylnitrosamines-STy5VkXHdD SP - 465 EP - 472 VL - 54 IS - 2 DP - DeepDyve ER -