Abstract

GONZALEZ-CALDERON, Davir; GONZALEZ-GONZALEZ, Carlos A.; FUENTES-BENITES, Aydeé  and  GONZALEZ-ROMERO, Carlos. Synthesis of caffeine from theobromine: Bringing back an old experiment in a new setting. Educ. quím [online]. 2015, vol.26, n.1, pp.9-12. ISSN 0187-893X.

Caffeine is one of the most widely consumed, naturally occurring, mild, and central nervous system stimulants. Its synthesis, by the N-methylation (S_N2 substitution) of theobromine is described as an experiment for the undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory. The N-methylation of theobromine is rapid and efficient and its progress is monitored by TLC using authentic standards. The undergraduate student also is able to observe the effect of temperature on the rate of the N-methylation reaction.

Keywords : caffeine; theobromine; undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory; thin layer chromatography; microscale organic reaction.

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