When you take organic chemistry, you learn about methyl iodide for putting on a methyl group. Eventually, though, if you stick with chemistry, you need an alkylating agent for grown-ups.
There's a lot of good ones, including dimethyl sulfate, methyl triflate (PDF), and the ever-so-toxic "magic methyl," methyl fluorosulfonate.
Part of being a grown-up, though, is settling down with an alkylating agent, and aside from the odd dirty weekend with some of the more exotic compounds, it's trialkyloxonium salts for me:
We used to have coffee together in the morning, but the methanol got to me...
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Methyl iodide is another simple organoiodide:
Evidence has been found for the stem cell theory of cancer development. For those of you not aware of this theory, it holds that cancers originate from cells that have inadequately differentiated from their stem cell origins.
If regulators in the state of California, a slate of scientists and doctors including 6 nobel laureates in chemistry and environmental and farmworker groups were all against registering a new toxic fumigant for fruits and vegetables, who would you expect to be in favor of it?
This is the third of 6 guest posts on infection and chronic disease.
Does chronic IL-6 levels lead to epigenetic changes in DNA methylation that contribute to this pathway?
"you need an alkylating agent for grown-ups."
I guess you're right. Time to grow up.
You know, given the hazards inherent in methylating agents, I do believe you missed a chance at a primo Tarantino reference -- "when you absolutely, positively have to methylate every mofo in the room."
there is a lovely method for making triethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate in Org Syn. You just mix together BF3 etherate, dry ether and epichlorohydrin. The stuff crashes out. I did it on a 50g scale.
You get trimethyl oxonium from triethyloxhonium just by blowing dimethylether gas stream over it. The alkyls exchange, bitches...
"Mighty Methyl" I came across this in a search for a methylating agent. Pretty nifty. http://reedgrouplab.ucr.edu/projects/methyl.html
What? No methyl lithium?