A new chemical reaction uses alternating current to tag pharmaceutical molecules with heavy hydrogen for easier drug testing.
April 23, 2026
Original Paper
Alternating Current–Driven Hydrogen Isotope Labeling of Aliphatic Amines Using 1,3-Propanedithiol as an Efficient Hydrogen Atom Transfer Reagent
ChemRxiv · chemrxiv.15002250/v1
The Takeaway
Creating labeled drugs for study is notoriously difficult because the necessary radicals are too unstable to control. This protocol uses a specific sulfur based catalyst and pulsing electricity to gently swap hydrogen atoms for deuterium. This makes the process significantly faster and more efficient than traditional heat based methods. It will allow pharmaceutical companies to track how new medicines move through the human body with much higher precision.
From the abstract
Hydrogen isotope exchange (HIE) plays a pivotal role in the synthesis of isotopically labelled compounds, which are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry for drug pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies. While electrochemical HIE has emerged as a powerful strategy for site-selective labelling of C–H bonds, extending its application to alkyl aminecontaining drugs has been hindered by the instability of α-amino radicals and their susceptibility to overoxidation. Here, we report the first