Abstract
The photosensitized oxidation of theophylline in aqueous solutions containing methylamine, dimethylamine, trimethylamine, ethylamine, diethylamine, triethylamine, ethylenediamine, propylenediamine, 1, 3-propanediamine, 1, 4-butanediamine, monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, triethanolamine, isopropanolamine and choline was investigated. When a solution of theophylline and Rose Bengal in aqueous ethylenediamine was irradiated with a 100 W high-pressure mercury lamp under bubbling oxygen, theophylline was decomposed to yield an unstable photo-oxidation product A. Treatment of A with 1 N NaOH produced 1, 3-dimethylallantoin and ethylenediamine, while treatment of A with 1 N HCl produced 1, 3-dimethyllumazine. When the other amines were used, theophylline gave 1, 3-dimethylallantoin as a main product.
