Dimethyl Sulfate → Methyldigoxin

Participants

Reaction Steps

A solution of 2.34 g (3 millimoles) of digoxin is treated with 797 mg (3 millimoles) of strontium hydroxide octahydrate and the mixture is methylated with 757 g (6 millimoles) of dimethyl sulfate at 0° C., the procedure being the same as in Example 6. Evaporation of the fractions collected gives 119 mg (4.90% of theory of dimethyldigoxin, 403 mg (17.16%) of digoxin and 1.732 g (72.62% of theory) of β-methyldigoxin, from which 1.59 g of pure β-methyldigoxin are obtained after recrystallization from acetone. The yield is 66.67% and the selectivity of the reaction is 80.48%.

Provenance & Evidence