New, stable halogenated derivative suitable for the gas Chromatographic determination of muramic acid

The formation of a new volatile derivative of muramic acid is described. The procedure entails a reaction with O-(pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine in pyridine to give the corresponding oxime and a treatment with acetic anhydride in the presence of 4-N,N-dimethylaminopyridine. The structures of the obtained derivatives have been confirmed by MS. The influence of various catalyst amounts used during the acetylation step was studied and a mechanism was proposed in order to explain the different reaction courses.