Dimethyl sulfate

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Dimethyl sulfate
Names
Preferred IUPAC name
Dimethyl sulfate
Other names
Dimethyl sulphate; Sulfuric acid dimethyl ester; Me2SO4; DMSO4; Dimethyl ester of sulfuric acid; Methyl sulfate, di-
Identifiers
3D model (
JSmol
)
ChEBI
ChEMBL
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard
100.000.963 Edit this at Wikidata
KEGG
UNII
  • InChI=1S/C2H6O4S/c1-5-7(3,4)6-2/h1-2H3 checkY
    Key: VAYGXNSJCAHWJZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N checkY
  • InChI=1/C2H6O4S/c1-5-7(3,4)6-2/h1-2H3
    Key: VAYGXNSJCAHWJZ-UHFFFAOYAK
  • COS(=O)(=O)OC
Properties
C2H6O4S
Molar mass 126.13 g/mol
Appearance Colorless, oily liquid
Odor faint, onion-like[1]
Density 1.33 g/ml, liquid
Melting point −32 °C (−26 °F; 241 K)
Boiling point 188 °C (370 °F; 461 K) (decomposes)
Reacts
Solubility Methanol, dichloromethane, acetone
Vapor pressure 0.1 mmHg (20 °C)[1]
−62.2×10−6 cm3/mol
Hazards
Occupational safety and health (OHS/OSH):
Main hazards
Extremely toxic, contact hazard, inhalation hazard, corrosive, environmental hazard, carcinogenic, mutagenic
GHS labelling:
GHS08: Health hazard GHS05: Corrosive GHS06: Toxic
Danger
H301, H314, H317, H330, H335, H341, H350
NFPA 704 (fire diamond)
NFPA 704 four-colored diamondHealth 4: Very short exposure could cause death or major residual injury. E.g. VX gasFlammability 2: Must be moderately heated or exposed to relatively high ambient temperature before ignition can occur. Flash point between 38 and 93 °C (100 and 200 °F). E.g. diesel fuelInstability 1: Normally stable, but can become unstable at elevated temperatures and pressures. E.g. calciumSpecial hazards (white): no code
4
2
1
Flash point 83 °C; 182 °F; 356 K[1]
Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC):
8.6 ppm (rat, 4 hr)
75 ppm (guinea pig, 20 min)
53 ppm (mouse)
32 ppm (guinea pig, 1 hr)[2]
97 ppm (human, 10 min)[2]
NIOSH (US health exposure limits):
PEL (Permissible)
TWA 1 ppm (5 mg/m3) [skin][1]
REL (Recommended)
Ca TWA 0.1 ppm (0.5 mg/m3) [skin][1]
IDLH
(Immediate danger)
Ca [7 ppm][1]
Related compounds
Related compounds
methyl triflate, dimethyl carbonate
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
checkY verify (what is checkY☒N ?)

Dimethyl sulfate (DMS) is a

methyl. Me2SO4 is mainly used as a methylating agent in organic synthesis
.

Me2SO4 is a colourless oily

trifluoromethanesulfonic acid
.

History

Dimethyl sulfate was discovered in the early 19th century in an impure form.[3] J. P. Claesson later extensively studied its preparation.[4][5]

It was investigated as a candidate for possible use in chemical warfare in

chlorosulfonic acid called "Rationite" in France.[8]

Production

Dimethyl sulfate can be synthesized in the laboratory by several methods,[9] the simplest being the esterification of sulfuric acid with methanol:[clarification needed]

2 CH3OH + H2SO4 → (CH3)2SO4 + 2 H2O

At higher temperatures, dimethyl sulfate decomposes.

The reaction of methyl nitrite and methyl chlorosulfonate also results in dimethyl sulfate:[5]

CH3ONO + (CH3)OSO2Cl → (CH3)2SO4 + NOCl

Dimethyl sulfate has been produced commercially since the 1920s. A common process is the continuous reaction of dimethyl ether with sulfur trioxide.[10]

(CH3)2O + SO3 → (CH3)2SO4

Reactions and uses

Dimethyl sulfate is a reagent for the methylation of phenols, amines, and thiols. One methyl group is transferred more quickly than the second. Methyl transfer is assumed to occur via an SN2 reaction. Compared to other methylating agents, dimethyl sulfate is preferred by the industry because of its low cost and high reactivity.

Methylation at oxygen

Commonly Me2SO4 is employed to methylate phenols. Some simple

tert-butanol to t-butyl methyl ether
:

2 (CH3)3COH + (CH3O)2SO2 → 2 (CH3)3COCH3 + H2SO4

Alkoxide salts are rapidly methylated to form methyl ethers:[11]

RONa+ + (CH3O)2SO2 → ROCH3 + Na(CH3)SO4

The methylation of sugars is called Haworth methylation.[12] The methylation of ketones is called the Lavergne reaction.

Methylation at amine nitrogen

Me2SO4 is used to prepare both

tertiary amines
:

C6H5CH=NC4H9 + (CH3O)2SO2 → C6H5CH=N+(CH3)C4H9 + CH3OSO3

Quaternized fatty ammonium compounds are used as a surfactant or fabric softener. Methylation to create a tertiary amine is illustrated as:[11]

CH3(C6H4)NH2 + (CH3O)2SO2 (in NaHCO3 aq) → CH3(C6H4)N(CH3)2 + Na(CH3)SO4

Methylation at sulfur

Similar to the methylation of alcohols,

thioethers by Me2SO4:[11]

RSNa+ + (CH3O)2SO2 → RSCH3 + Na(CH3)SO4

An example is:[13]

p-CH3C6H4SO2Na + (CH3O)2SO2p-CH3C6H4SO2CH3 + Na(CH3)SO4

This method has been used to prepare thioesters from thiocarboxylic acids:

RC(O)SH + (CH3O)2SO2 → RC(O)S(CH3) + HOSO3CH3

Reactions with nucleic acids

Dimethyl sulfate (DMS) is used to determine the secondary structure of RNA. At neutral pH, DMS methylates unpaired adenine and cytosine residues at their canonical Watson–Crick faces, but it cannot methylate base-paired nucleotides. Using the method known as DMS-MaPseq,[14] RNA is incubated with DMS to methylate unpaired bases. Then the RNA is reverse-transcribed; the reverse transcriptase frequently adds an incorrect DNA base when it encounters a methylated RNA base. These mutations can be detected via sequencing, and the RNA is inferred to be single-stranded at bases with above-background mutation rates.

Dimethyl sulfate can effect the base-specific cleavage of DNA by attacking the

proteins like RNA polymerase progressively melting and re-annealing the DNA). Upon re-annealing, these methyl groups interfere with adenine-guanine base-pairing. Nuclease S1
can then be used to cut the DNA in single-stranded regions (anywhere with a methylated adenine). This is an important technique for analyzing protein-DNA interactions.

Alternatives

Although dimethyl sulfate is highly effective and affordable, its toxicity has encouraged the use of other methylating reagents.

Methyl iodide is a reagent used for O-methylation, like dimethyl sulfate, but is less hazardous and more expensive.[13] Dimethyl carbonate, which is less reactive, has far lower toxicity compared to both dimethyl sulfate and methyl iodide.[16]
High pressure can be used to accelerate methylation by dimethyl carbonate. In general, the toxicity of methylating agents is correlated with their efficiency as methyl transfer reagents.

Safety

Dimethyl sulfate is

LD50 (acute, oral) is 205 mg/kg (rat) and 140 mg/kg (mouse), and LC50 (acute) is 45 ppm per 4 hours (rat).[18] The vapor pressure of 65 Pa[19] is sufficiently large to produce a lethal concentration in air by evaporation at 20 °C. Delayed toxicity allows potentially fatal exposures to occur prior to development of any warning symptoms.[17]
Symptoms may be delayed 6–24 hours. Concentrated solutions of bases (ammonia, alkalis) can be used to hydrolyze minor spills and residues on contaminated equipment, but the reaction may become violent with larger amounts of dimethyl sulfate (see ICSC). Although the compound hydrolyses, treatment with water cannot be assumed to decontaminate it.

One hypothesis regarding the apparently mysterious 1994

dimethyl sulfone crystals in her blood, which were converted by an unknown mechanism to dimethyl sulfate vapour that poisoned attending medical staff.[20][21]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards. "#0229". National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
  2. ^ a b "Dimethyl sulfate". Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Concentrations (IDLH). National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
  3. ^ Dumas, J.; Péligot, E. (1835). "Mémoire sur l'esprit de bois et sur les divers composés ethérés qui en proviennent" [Memoir on spirit of wood [i.e., methanol] and on various ethereal compounds that come from it]. Annales de Chimie et de Physique. 2nd series (in French). 58: 5–74.
  4. .
  5. ^ .
  6. ^ "Dimethyl Sulfate 77-78-1". EPA.
  7. ^ "Poison Facts: Low Chemicals: Dimethyl Sulfate". The University of Kansas Hospital.
  8. ^ Sartori, Mario (1939). The War Gases. D. Van Nostrand. pp. 262, 266.
  9. LCCN 64010030
    .
  10. ^
    US Department of Health and Human Services
    . 2011.
  11. ^ a b c "Dupont product information". Archived from the original on 2008-11-19. Retrieved 2006-05-08.
  12. .
  13. ^ .
  14. .
  15. .
  16. .
  17. ^ .
  18. ^ "Material Safety Data Sheet - Dimethyl sulfate MSDS". ScienceLab. Archived from the original on 2012-04-06. Retrieved 2011-10-02.
  19. ^ ICSC
  20. ^ "What's the story on the "toxic lady"?". The Straight Dope. 1996-03-22. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  21. PMID 9248041
    .

External links