Pantoprazole (1), a substituted benzimidazole derivative, is an irreversible proton pump inhibitor, essentially used for the prevention and treatment of gastric acid-related diseases. The process for its preparation generally suffers from the drawback of producing a potential sulfone impurity (5). The present work details a report of the journey towards the development of a simple, single-pot process for the production of pantoprazole, substantially free from sulfone impurity (5). The detailed study of the different parameters affecting the purity and yield of the compound has been presented.

Attempts to synthesize the antidepressant drug atomoxetine directly by p-TSA-catalyzed reaction between o-cresol and N-methyl-3-phenyl-3-hydroxypropyl amine in toluene at reflux temperature surprisingly resulted in the formation of ortho-substituted phenol derivative. The structure is unambiguously confirmed by single crystal X-ray.

Polyphenylalkane derivatives Q 0720Unusual p-Toluene Sulfonic Acid-Catalyzed Carbon-Carbon Bond Formation.-An unusual C-C bond formation is reported for the reaction of amine (I) with o-cresol (II) in the presence of Tos-OH as catalyst for the first time. The structure of the unexpected product (III) (no yield given) is confirmed by X-ray analysis. -(GOVINDAN, S.; MADDIPATLA, M.; PODICHETTY, A. K.; MACHARLA, P.; NALIVELA, V.; SUNDARAM, V.; MATHAD, V. T.; GHANTA*, M. R.; YALAVARTI, R. K.; Synth. Commun. 35 (2005) 13, 1765-1768; Dep. Res. Dev., Dr. Reddy's Lab. Ltd., Bollaram, Jinnaram 502 325, India; Eng.) -H. Haber 46-088