USE OF LACTAMS IN THE MANNICH REACTION

The Mannich reactions studied lead to products bearing an unsymmetrically substituted methylene group connecting the lactam residue with amine or resorcinol. The mechanistic considerations of both reactions are presented. It is ascertained that the first reaction is the N-aminomethylation of lactam-substrate and the second reaction is the C-amidomethylation of resorcinol-substrate. The latter reaction is successful only with preliminarily formed N-hydroxymethyl- epsilon -caprolactam. Several new Mannich bases have been synthesized and identified. **1H NMR spectroscopy has been used to follow the course of the reaction as well as to identify the products formed.