ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF CODEIA
Year: 1885

page_text: I, DAVID BROWN DOTT of Number 93 Abbeyhill, Edinburgh, in the County of
Midlothian, North Britain, Chemist do hereby declare the nature of the said
invention for THE ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF CODEIA to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the artificial production of codeia and it consists in
5 dissolving morphia in water with an equivalent of soda. Methyl-chloride is then
passed through this solution. The methyl replaces one atom of hydrogen in the
morphia to form codeia, the chlorine combining with the sodium and the hydrogen
and hydroxyl forming water.
J. H. JOHNSON, DAY & JOHNSON,
Petitioner's Agents.
I, DAVID BROWN DOTT of No. 93 Abbeyhill, Edinburgh, in the County of Mid-
lothian, North Britain, Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for THE ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF CODEIA and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This invention, which relates to the use of methyl chloride for the preparation of
codeia from morphine, consists essentially in the employment of methyl chloride for
the artificial production of the said codeia.
In practising this Invention the following process is used.
The weight of morphine being known, an equivalent of soda (forty parts of
sodium hydroxide to three hundred and three parts of morphine hydrate) is

page_text: dissolved in its own weight of water. This solution is then mixed with
methylated spirit and the morphine added. The spirit used is in amount
sufficient to make the solution of the strength of one part of morphine in eight
parts of solution or thereabouts. The resulting solution is now introduced into a
series of seven large bottles connected with tubes passing through the corks, in
such a manner that a gas admitted under pressure at one end passes through
the liquid in each bottle. These bottles are placed in a water bath which is
maintained at a temperature of about 80° C and methyl chloride is passed through
the solution in a brisk stream for two hours or longer. The contents of the bottles
are then emptied into a still and the spirit drawn off as completely as possible,
after which the residue in the still is diluted with water and the solution filtered.
The precipitate in the filter is washed with hot water and the united filtrate and
washings agitated with chloroform in successive quantities so as to remove nearly
the whole of the codeia. On now distilling off the chloroform, the codeia is left
and may be purified by re-crystallization or otherwise. Though certain bye-
products are formed at the same time the essential re-action may be expressed as
follows:-
C₁7 H19 NO, Na HO + CH, co = C18 H NO, + Nace + H₂O;
morphinate of soda with methyl chloride, yields codeia, sodium chloride and water.
The residue in the filter consists almost entirely of morphine, and together with
that recovered from the alkaline mother-waters is used in subsequent operations
for the production of Codeia.
Instead of passing the methyl chloride into the solution in manner as above
described, the gas may be forced into the morphinate solution under high pressure
with very good results. Instead of using soda as hereinbefore described, another
alkali or alkaline earth may be used, for example, lime.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that the
essential feature of this Invention and what I claim is
The employment of methyl chloride with morphine in combination with soda or
other alkali or base for the purpose of producing codeia by the reaction of these
substances in the process substantially as hereinbefore described,
D
2.1 .
1000