A PROTON MAGNETIC RESONANCE STUDY OF N-BIS(2-HALOETHYL)AMINES

Abstract

The proton magnetic resonance chemical shifts of N-bis(2-haloethyl)amine hydrohalide salts have been found useful for rapidly assessing organohalide composition. An important illustration of nitogen mustard reactivity was obtained by observing the p.m.r. response of N-bis(2-haloethyl)amine hydrohalide salts (in deuterium oxide) following neutralization. In general, the amines rapidly entered a complex series of intra- and inter-molecular reactions. Among the substances studied N-bis(2-fluoroethyl)amine was by far the most stable and remained essentially unchanged during a 7-day period. By contrast N-bis(2-iodoethyl)amine was completely transformed in less than 6 min. The self-condensation reactions of, for example, N-bis(2-chloroethyl)amine appear to be accompanied by transient formation of N-2-chloroethylaziridine (IIIb). The present investigation indicates that p.m.r. spectroscopy is a valuable technique for evaluating the course of nitrogen mustard self-condensation reactions.