Question

Show how lidocain, one of the most widely used injectable anaesthetics, can be prepared from benzene and compounds containing no more than four carbons.

Iidocain

Short answer

The answer is,

Reaction

Step-by-step solution

Benzene

Benzene can be used for the synthesis of organic compounds containing large substituents. The compounds like Novocain and lidocain can be synthesised from benzene using a series of chemical reactions using different reagents.

Explanation

The reaction for the synthesis of lidocain is as given below.

Reaction

The Friedel- Crafts reaction can be done on a ring with a sulfonic acid group, because its deactivation is offset by the activating amide group. The sulfonic acid group is put on the ring to block the para position, forcing the methyl groups to go to the ortho positions.