I have several questions about the synthesis of cocaine from pyrrole that I found on erowid’s site.
(
http://www.erowid.org/archive/hyperreal/drugs/stimulants/cocaine.synth
)
The basic route looks like this:
pyrrole -> succinaldoxime
succinaldoxime -> succinaldehyde
succinaldehyde -> tropinone
tropinone -> 2-carbomethoxytropinone
2-carbomethoxytropinone -> methylecgonine
methylecgonine -> cocaine
1. I realize it isn’t the easiest synthesis – it requires a lot of steps and affords plenty of opportunities for screw-ups – but if I get all the steps right, will it work and provide the right isomer?
2. The literature claims that pyrrole is distilled from bone oil, which is extracted from crushed, heated bones. Bones I can get. Does anyone know where I can find a more detailed description of extracting pyrrole from bones?
3. What is succinaldoxime? I don’t have Merck’s Index, but I can’t even find anything at all about it on the net. A search of the hive didn’t turn anything up either. It isn’t listed by any chemical supply places. Does it go by any other names? Does anyone know its physical properties, or have Merck entry for it?
4. Acetonedicarboxylic acid is on the watched list, and I would rather expend extra time and effort than take unecessary risks in trying to obtain it. Is there a synthesis for it that uses more readily available compounds?
5. In the conversion from succinaldehyde to tropinone, it says the reaction mixture should be allowed to set for six days. That’s a long time to sit and stare at a flask. Is there anyway around this?
6. The conversion from tropinone to 2-carbomethoxytropinone does not state the yield, and I am having some difficulty trying to come up with a balanced equation to even get the theoretical yield. Does anyone know of a detailed abstract that includes the yield?
7. No yield is given in the conversion from carbomethoxytropinone to methylecgonine, either, so I am wondering about a more detailed abtract for that reaction as well. Also, it says the methylecgonine needs to be tested for activity and further processed if it isn’t active. I have no idea what the author is talking about. What is the difference between “active” and “inactive” methylecgonine, and I how do I test it for activity?
8. The final step – methylecgonine to cocaine – calls for benzene as a solvent in the reaction:
Methylecgonine + benzoic anhydride in benzene --> cocaine.
Benzene is dangerous for a lot of reasons and it is not easy to come by. Can I used a different solvent, like dichloromethane or chloroform, or will they screw up the reaction? Also, once again no yield is given in this step.