Phenyl isothiocyanate (PITC) is a reagent used in reversed phase HPLC. PITC is less sensitive than ''o''-

phthaldehyde Phthalaldehyde (sometimes also ''o''-phthalaldehyde or ''ortho''-phthalaldehyde, OPA) is the chemical compound with the formula C6H4(CHO)2. It is one of three isomers of benzene dicarbaldehyde, related to phthalic acid. This pale yellow solid is ...

(OPA) and cannot be fully automated. PITC can be used for analysing secondary amines, unlike OPA. It is also known as Edman's reagent and is used in

Edman degradation Edman degradation, developed by Pehr Edman, is a method of sequencing amino acids in a peptide. In this method, the amino-terminal residue is labeled and cleaved from the peptide without disrupting the peptide bonds between other amino acid resi ...

. Commercially available, this compound may be synthesized by the reaction of

aniline Aniline (From , meaning ' indigo shrub', and ''-ine'' indicating a derived substance) is an organic compound with the formula . Consisting of a phenyl group () attached to an amino group (), aniline is the simplest aromatic amine. It is an in ...

with

carbon disulfide Carbon disulfide (also spelled as carbon disulphide) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula and structure . It is also considered as the anhydride of thiocarbonic acid. It is a colorless, flammable, neurotoxic liquid that is used as ...

and concentrated

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

to give the ammonium

dithiocarbamate In organic chemistry, a dithiocarbamate is a chemical compound with the general formula . It contains the functional group with the Chemical structure, structure . It is the analog of a carbamate in which both oxygen atoms are replaced by sulfur ...

salt of aniline in the first step, which on further reaction with

lead(II) nitrate Lead(II) nitrate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Pb( NO3)2. It commonly occurs as a colourless crystal or white powder and, unlike most other lead(II) salts, is soluble in water. Known since the Middle Ages by the name plumbum ...

gives phenyl isothiocyanate: : Synthesis phenylisothiocyanate 1

Another method of synthesizing this reagent involves a

Sandmeyer reaction The Sandmeyer reaction is a chemical reaction used to synthesize aryl halides from aryl diazonium salts using copper salts as reagents or catalysts. It is an example of a radical-nucleophilic aromatic substitution. The Sandmeyer reaction provides ...

using

sodium nitrite Sodium nitrite is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a white to slightly yellowish crystalline powder that is very soluble in water and is hygroscopic. From an industrial perspective, it is the most important nitrite sa ...

and

copper(I) thiocyanate Copper(I) thiocyanate (or cuprous thiocyanate) is a coordination polymer with formula CuSCN. It is an air-stable, white solid used as a precursor for the preparation of other thiocyanate salts. Structure At least two polymorphs have been chara ...

. A use of phenylisothiocyanate is in the synthesis of linogliride.

References

{{Cruciferous Biochemistry Isothiocyanates Foul-smelling chemicals Phenyl compounds

See also

References