Abstract
This thesis is concerned with the development of new and improved labeling procedures for introducing deuterium and tritium into organic compounds with the intention that some of the methods can be applied to more complex compounds such as biomaterials. The thesis consists of 6 chapters. In the first of these the necessary background information relating to biomaterials and the currently used methods of preparing deuteriated/tritiated compounds is presented, whilst in the second chapter various aspects of the use of our Tri-Sorber unit, unique to universities, are presented. The instrument allows H2, D2 and T2 to be stored on uranium beds and does away with the many problems associated with the use of a glass gas line; this is especially true for T2. In Chapter 3 the advantages of using microwaves in the area of aromatic dehalogenations are explored. The use of solid formates (DCOO-K+) in preference to D2 gas, combined with microwave irradiation, greatly increases the rates of these reactions although there are still instances where reactions do not proceed satisfactorily. In Chapter 4 it is shown for the first time how the pattern of microwave-enhanced Raney nickel isotope exchange reactions can be influenced, depending on the deuteriated solvent employed. General labeling through to specific labeling is reported. In Chapter 5 the benefits of using microwave and solid donors in hydrogenation reactions are explored; some examples of microwave-enhanced hydrogenations in the absence of solvent, as well as in the presence of solvent, are reported. Finally, in the last, brief chapter some of the new developments reported in the earlier chapters are applied to the attempted deuteriation of a biocompatible polymer and a model compound.