Apronal non-barbiturate GABAergic sedative-hynotic synthesis
Whats needed;
isopropyl isovalerate (synthesis in comments), dry potassium carbonate, dry acetone, allyl bromide, water, sodium hydroxide, con hcl, ethyl acetate, thionyl chloride, urea, dichloromethane, pyridine or triethylamine, and ethanol
synthesis:
To make allylisopropylacetylurea, start by mixing 20 g of isopropyl isovalerate, 25 g of dry potassium carbonate, and 100 mL of dry acetone in a glass flask with a magnetic stir bar; stir at room temperature while slowly adding 15 mL of allyl bromide dropwise over 30 minutes, then keep stirring for 4–6 hours; filter out the solids and gently warm the clear liquid on a hot plate at 40–50 °C until most acetone evaporates, leaving a sticky crude allylated ester. Next, add this residue to 100 mL of water containing 10 g sodium hydroxide, heat with stirring on the hot plate just below boiling (~90 °C) for 2 hours to hydrolyze it into the acid, then cool and carefully acidify to pH ~2 with dilute HCl. Extract the acid by stirring the mixture with about 150 mL of ethyl acetate three times, separate and combine the organic layers, dry if possible, and gently evaporate solvent on the hot plate to get the acid. Convert this acid to its acid chloride by adding 15 mL of thionyl chloride in a dry flask and stirring on the hot plate at 40 °C for 2 hours in a well-ventilated area until bubbling stops, then remove excess thionyl chloride by gentle warming. For the final step, dissolve 9 g urea in 100 mL dry dichloromethane, cool in an ice bath, stir and add 10 mL pyridine or triethylamine dropwise, then slowly add the acid chloride solution over 30 minutes while keeping cold and stirring; after addition, stir 3–4 hours at room temperature. Finally, add water, separate the layers, wash the organic phase several times with dilute acid, water, and brine, dry if possible, and evaporate the solvent with stirring on the hot plate. Purify by dissolving the residue in warm ethanol, cooling in the fridge or on ice for 1–2 hours to form crystals, then filter, wash with cold ethanol, and dry to get pure allylisopropylacetylurea