Pyrrolidine
Pyrrolidine, also known as tetrahydropyrrole, is an organic compound with the molecular formula (CH2)4NH. It is a cyclic secondary amine, also classified as a saturated heterocycle. It is a colourless liquid that is miscible with water and most organic solvents. It has a characteristic semen-like odor. Compared to acyclic secondary amines, it is about 10 times more basic.
Synthesis and occurrence
Pyrrolidine is produced industrially by treatment of 1,4-butanediol with ammonia over an oxide catalyst.
Pyrrolidine is found in the leaves of tobacco and carrot. The pyrrolidine ring structure is present in numerous natural alkaloids such as nicotine and hygrine. It is found in many pharmaceutical drugs such as procyclidine and bepridil. It also forms the basis for the racetam compounds (e.g. piracetam, aniracetam). The amino acids proline and hydroxyproline are, in a structural sense, derivatives of pyrrolidine.
Applications
Pyrrolidine is used as a building block in the synthesis of more complex compounds. In organic chemistry, pyrrolidine is used to activate ketones and aldehydes toward nucleophilic addition by formation of enamines:
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