Sevoflurane → HCID 11310679, compound

Participants

Reaction Steps

U.S. Pat. No. 6,271,422 describes the synthesis of sevoflurane by fluoromethylation of alcohols via decarboxylative halogenation. In this way, hexafluoroisopropanol is submitted to reaction with ethyl alpha-bromoacetate providing alpha-(hexafluoroisopropoxy)acetic acid in a yield of 66%. This intermediate is subjected to reaction with highly toxic lead tetra-acetate, using carcinogenic benzene as the solvent. In the reaction sequence, the homogeneous benzene/sevochlorane solution, which is inseparable by distillation, is reacted with potassium fluoride providing at the end of the process sevoflurane with a low yield of 28%.

Provenance & Evidence