Phenytoin is an anticonvulsant medication effective in the treatment of tonic-clonic and focal seizures. The chemical synthesis of phenytoin is a two-step process: benzil and urea precursors are combined via addition reaction to form the intermediate imidazolidinone. Imidazolidinone then is altered via the pinacol rearrangement to form crude phenytoin. Our goal is two-part: 1) determine the most efficient process of small-scale phenytoin synthesis 2) Integrate the process into an undergraduate organic chemistry lab.

Synthesis of the pharmaceutical phenytoin (diphenylhydantoin) for demonstrating pinacol rearrangement

ACS Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.