Mechanistic studies on the oxidation reaction of antitubercular drug isoniazid and its analogy hydrazides by chlorine dioxide over a wide pH range

Abstract

Oxidations of the antitubercular drug isoniazid (INH) and its analogy hydrazides, nicotinic hydrazide (NH), picolinoyl hydrazide (PH), and benzohydrazide (BH), by ClO2 were investigated with a focus on the kinetics and reaction mechanisms. In buffered solutions of a wide pH range (from 0.51 to 10.35), the oxidation reactions strictly followed the second-order kinetics, and the apparent second-order rate constant kapp versus pH profiles were established at 25.0 °C and 1.0 M ionic strength. Excess ClO2 could rapidly oxidize the hydrazides to their corresponding aryl acids which were identified by mass spectrometry. For each of the hydrazides, the proposed reaction mechanism involves parallel rate-determining reactions between ClO2 and various protolysis species of the hydrazide, rendering two types of hydrazyl free radicals; the free radicals are quickly oxidized by 3 more equivalents of ClO2 to aryl acids. The derived rate constants for the rate-determining reactions revealed that for each hydrazide a huge reactivity difference existed among the protolysis species (>108 times) and that the enolate form (or its resonant structures) was extremely reactive. Two possible modes of electron transfer in the rate-determining reactions are discussed based on the observed reaction characters. In buffered solution of pH 7.0 and 25.0 °C, the measured values of kapp are 6.20×104, 7.8×103, 2.57×103, and 1.83×103 M−1 s−1 for INH, NH, PH, and BH, respectively, imparting an important data set as a reference to the water treatment. This work may open a new door for resolving water pollution caused by INH and its derivatives.