This chapter covers both aliphatic and aromatic compounds that contain one or more nitrogen atoms in their structures. Only a small number of the nitrogen‐containing compounds that could be considered will be reviewed here based mainly on their uses in industry.
Three‐membered rings discussed are ethyleneimine, propyleneimine, and one polyfunctional derivative, triethylenemelamine. Toxicologists, chemists, and biologists have always been interested in ethylenimine and its derivatives because they are reactive, are useful at relatively low doses, and are moderately to highly toxic. Ethylenimines are classic alkylating agents and have toxicological effects similar to nitrogen mustards. Monofunctional derivatives of ethylenimine are less potent in producing the characteristic toxicity of the group than the derivatives that have two or more ethylenimine groups. Finally, polymers of ethylenimine and its derivatives have shown a relatively low order of toxicity.
Six simple nitrogen mustards (β‐chloroethylamines) are also covered in this chapter. They are all tertiary amines in which the halogen atom and the amine portion have reactivities similar to the alkyl halides and alkyl amines. They have no significant industrial uses in the United States, but they are used in medicine as “antineoplastic agents” and in treating some nonmalignant diseases.
Representative nitrogen‐containing chemicals that have five‐membered rings (pyrrolidine, NMP) and six‐membered rings (piperidine, piperazine, morpholine, and HMTA) are also discussed in this chapter in some detail.