Abstract
Primary amines react with the triphenylpyrylium cation in high polarity R
3
N-R′CO
2
H mixtures and phenolic solvents, forming the usual pyridinium salts. Such reaction of α-amino-acids is accompained by spontaneous decarboxylation, yielding alkyl substituted
N
-methylpyridinium salts. Pyridinium formation without further decomposition occurs by reaction of the ω-amino- and terminal-amino-substituents of lysine and glycylglycine respectively, these serving as models for amino-residues in polypeptides and proteins.