Potassium Hydroxide → Gabapentin

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

Gabapentin hydrochloride (10 g, 0.048 mol) was dissolved in benzyl alcohol (70 ml) at room temperature. Finely powdered potassium hydroxide (2.7 g, 0.048 mol) was added and the reaction mixture was stirred till the solution pH reaches 7.0 to 7.5. It will take about 2 to 3 hours. The suspension was filtered and the residue washed with about 5 ml benzyl alcohol. The clear filtrate was cooled to 0-5° C. and 140 ml of methyl tert.butyl ether (MTBE) was added. The solution was stirred for one hour and the precipitated gabapentin filtered. The crude gabapentin was washed with MTBE and stirred in ethanol to remove traces of benzyl alcohol to obtain pure gabapentin. Yield: 6.9 g (84%), HPLC: 99.6%.

Provenance & Evidence