Stefan Goszczynski

Fungal Degradation of Azo Dyes and Its Relationship to their Structure

Organic chemists add approximately 200,000 new chemicals per year to the millions already used by the USA, Japan, and the advanced industrial nations of Europe. About 100,000 of the chemicals in use are synthetic dyes (Meyer, 1981). Azo dyes are the most numerous and widely manufactured of the synthetic dyes, having a great variety of uses ranging from food dyes to gasoline additives (solvent dyes). Highly water soluble azo dyes are widely used in the fiber dyeing industry, and azo pigments that are highly insoluble in water and in organic solvents are used in paint products (Hunger et al., 1985). The characteristic feature of azo dyes is the presence of one or more chromophoric azo group(s) R-N=N-R, where at least one nitrogen atom is linked to a carbon atom belonging to an aromatic carbocycle.

Synthesis of 1‐carboxy‐N, N, N‐tri‐[methyl‐14C] methanaminium chloride (betaine [methyl‐14C] hydrochloride)

SUMMARY Methyl bromoacetate was reacted with trimethyla~nine-[~‘C] dissolved in methanol, forming the methyl ester of [I4C] labeled betaine hydrobromide. The methyl ester was hydrolyzed in an alkaline medium to (carboxymethy1)trimethylammonium hydroxide inner salt, and then transformed into the hydrochloride by treatment with an equivalent amount of hydrochloric acid, yielding high purity material with a specific activity of 19.2 pCi/mmol and overall yield of 81.7%.