for the N-dealkylation of tropanes, opiates and other drug molecules

Carbon-nitrogen bond cleavage in the form of N-dealkylation is an important chemical transformation which provides routes for the synthesis of a wide range of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, bulk and fine chemicals. N-dealkylation of amines is also an important in vivo metabolic pathway in the metabolism of xenobiotics and drugs. Identification and synthesis of drug metabolites such as N-dealkylated metabolites are necessary throughout all phases of drug development studies. In this thesis, three novel synthetic routes are explored for the N-dealkylation of various secondary and tertiary amines to synthesize added-value pharmaceutical intermediates and drug metabolites based on electrochemistry and a nanoporous gold catalyst.