10.1021/je00030a033
The research focused on the preparation and purification of enantiomers of 2,3-dibromo-1-propanol, a mutagenic metabolite of the potent mutagen, carcinogen, and nephrotoxin tris(2,3-dibromopropyl) phosphate. The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of stereochemistry on the toxic properties of 2,3-dibromopropanols and their phosphate esters, as oxidations by cytochrome P-450 are often stereoselective. The researchers synthesized the optical isomers by diazotization of the diastereomeric d-tartrate salts of 2,3-dibromopropylamine, yielding products that contained approximately 13% of the secondary alcohol 1,3-dibromo-2-propanol. The primary and secondary alcohols were separated using column chromatography on silica gel or preparative GLC, and their structures were distinguished using NMR and mass spectrometry. The optical isomers were obtained and will be used to examine possible stereoselective differences in mutagenic potency. Chemicals used in the process included allylamine, d-tartaric acid, concentrated HBr, bromine, NaOH, NaNO2, H2SO4, and various solvents such as methanol, hexane, benzene, and ether for chromatography and extraction.