Acid hydrolysis of vitamin B12 yields 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole,1 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole-1 --D-ribofuranoside,2 and its 2or 3-phosphate,3Dg-1 -amino-propanol-2,4 ammonia,6 and a red cobalt fraction.6 Comparable hydrolysis of crystalline pseudovitamin Bi27 does not give 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole nor any derivative thereof. Hydrolysis with 1 M HC1 at 100°for 2.5-12 hours yields adenine, a purine tentatively identified as hypoxanthine, a ninhydrin reacting material cor-

A NEW CYCLIZATION REACTION'Sir :We wish to report that a-(2-biphenylyl)-acetonitrile as well as certain a-alkyl-and a-aroyl derivatives in the presence of concentrated sulfuric acid will undergo isomerization to yield phenanthrylamines. After three hours a t Oo, 2-biphenylylacetonitrile afforded an 85% yield of 9-phenanthrylamine, m.p. 134-136' ( l k Z 137.5-138').From a-(2-biphenyly1)-b~tyronitrile~ and the homologous ~aleronitrile,~ 10-ethyl-9-phenanthrylamine (m.p. 117.5-119.5' ; benzamide, m.p. 241-243') and 10-propyl-9-phenanthrylamine (m.p. 101-102.5° ; benzamide, m.p. 220-2215') were obtained in 80-85% yield.This new cyclization has been applied to a-(0methoxybenzoyl) -a-(2-biphenylyl)-acetonitrile (obtained in a manner analogous to that used in preparing the isomer5) which in the presence of sulfuric acid yielded an amine (m.p. 175-176') having the composition expected for lO-(o-methoxybenzoy1)-9phenanthrylamine. This, as well as the other phenanthrylamines above, gave the characteristic diazonium coupling test with sodium P-naphtholate. On the basis of this same test, the compound obtained by the sulfuric acid cyclization of a-(p-methoxybenzoy1)-a-(2biphenylyl)acetonitrile, and originally described by Bradsher and Kittila& as 9-(p-methoxyphenyl) -10-phenanthramide is actually lO-(p-methoxybenzoy1)-9-phenanthrylamine.(1) This investigation was supported b y a research grant (C-1743) from the National Cancer

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