2b4m is an important chemical raw material, widely used in pharmaceutical intermediates, organic synthesis, flavors and fragrances industry, agrochemical fields, etc. Our blog will introduce some of the chemical and physical properties of 2b4m and its applications in the main fields of chemical industry.

2b4m is usually a white powder at room temperature. The compound has a melting point range of 75-77°C and a boiling point of approximately 273°C. Due to its unique chemical structure, it has a wide range of uses in different fields.

There are two main synthesis methods for 2b4m, one is the bromination method, and the other is the alkylation method. Under appropriate conditions, the target product can be obtained.

The main purpose:

1. pharmaceutical intermediates

Talking about small and important molecules, I have an interesting story to tell. In ancient time, there was a famous doctor named Hua Tuo, who cured many people by using his high medical skills. One day, a patient with a withered body came to him, after the diagnosis Hua Tuo found that he got jaundice, so Hua Tuo sadly said to him:”There is no way to treat your illness now!” The patient felt very sad and went home.

Several months later, Hua Tuo saw the man again, to his surprise, the man did not die and he was very healthy again. Hua Tuo was so surprised that he asked the patient what happened. The man replied, he did not do anything but eat some wild grass. After investigation by Hua Tuo, he found the patient took Artemisia apiacea a lot so that must be the plant cure him. Thousdands of years later, artemisinin were extracted from the same plant the patient ate thousands of years ago, and artemisinin cured so many patients who got malaria. From that, we should never neglect the power of small molecules which have great importance in medicine development. And people gradually pay more attention to small and important molecules, and they begin to consider whether they can synthesize those molecules with certain kinds of function.

So firstly, what are pharmaceutical intermediates? They are some chemical raw materials or products used in the process of drug synthesis, when it reaches certain level, it can be used in drug production.

Drug synthesis method is to produce drug with a series of standard procedures. In general, several raw materials react, go through several reaction steps such as heating, coordination catalysis, and solvent re-complexation, and undergo reactions one after another, ultimately generating the final product.

2b4m can be used as intermediates in antibiotics, anticancer medicine, and because of its unique structure, it can be treated as “a novel star” in the drug function analysis and application.

Such as in antibiotics field, 2b4m can enhance the bacterial strains’ kill ability by added into the biological agents. In anticancer field, if cooperated with the other drugs, the anticancer effects are better than use the drug alone. And if 2b4m were used in anti-inflammatory, it can alleviate the pain and make the patient feel more comfortable.

2. In organic synthesis

In 1828, F. Weiler synthesized urea, which is a great achievement in history.

Because human then could synthesize organic things in vitro, so it broke the fact that organic things could not be obtained outside the body. This news hit the theory of “vitality” strongly , later a lot of materials which thought to be impossible to get in the artificial ways were one by one showing up, the organic synthesis gradually became an experimental science.

Then organic synthesis has great improvement, it has two basic categories: basic organic molecules (fibers, plastics, rubbers) and fine organic molecules (pharmaceuticals, dyes)

With several steps of chemical reactions, 2b4m can finally transform into other useful chemical products, such as mephedrone, and other important molecules which have great use in chemical material fields.

With new bond formation or heterocycle synthesis, 2b4m can form complicate molecules, such as indoles which have remarkable use in chemical science.

Moreover, in ligand synthesis, 2b4m can be modified and used to generate ligand which can catalyze biological reactions in vivo or vitro.

3. in perfume industry

2b4m has unique scents due to its unique chemical structure, therefore it is also a high-quality material which can be used in perfume production. Typically, the spicies are lavender, rose, jasmine, rosemary，if those things blended with 2b4m ,in a certain proportion, the scent will be more distinct and let people feel comfortable.

How to get 2-Bromo-4-Methylpropiophenone?

Originally, we get 2b4m in this way: under the protection of argon, add AlCl₃ into the reaction bottle, and then add 2-bromopropanoyl chloride and toluene, let the reaction finish in 30 minutes. Then use dichloromethane and hydrochloric acid to extract the 2-Bromo-4-Methylpropiophenone crystal powder.

 

Safety warnings:

You need to operate it in well ventilated areas. Due to its chemical features, it can cause phlegmonosis in your eyes and skin, so you need to be extremely careful when you use it.

Finally, thank you for your time to view our article and if you have any questions, feel free to contact us and we will try our best to serve you.