Electrooxidation of Some Methylxanthines known as Antagonists of Adenosine Receptors

摘要

The electrochemical oxidation of 1,7-dimethylxanthine and 1,3,7-trimethyl xanthine,well known antagonist of adenosine receptors,has been studied in phosphate buffers of pH 2.8-10.0.The oxidation of both the xanthines occurred in a single 4e~-,4H~+ process.The presence of methyl group in these compounds at position 7 has been found responsible for shifting the peak potential of these compounds by greater than 400 mV more positive than xanthine.The kinetics of the UV adsorbing intermediate generated during oxidation has also been studied and it is found that the decay of the intermediate occursr in a pseudo-first order reaction.The products of the oxidation have been separated and characterised for both the compounds,and a tentative mechanism for the oxidation has also been suggested.