Hazard
Moderate fire risk. Toxic by ingestion and
inhalation.
Physical properties
Pyrrole is a colorless to brown liquid that has a sweet, warm-ethereal smell, similar to chloroform. It dissolves in ethanol, ether, benzene, dilute acids, and most non-volatile oils but does not dissolve in water or dilute alkalis. When stored for extended periods, it tends to aggregate and become brown due to the influence of light.
Occurrence
The pyrrole ring is the basic unit of the porphyrin system which occurs, for example, in chlorophyll and in hemoglobin. Other pyrrole-based natural products include pigments such as bilirubin and biliverdin, which are degradative products from porphyrins (Sundberg, 1984).
Pyrrole has been found in surface waters and in filtrates from cultures of the blue-green algae, Anabaenaflos aquae. The presence of pyrrole and other organic nitrogen compounds in natural waters is of environmental concern because they may exert significant chlorine demand. Pyrrole is also a precursor to trihalomethane formation (Ram and Morris, 1980).
Definition
ChEBI: 1H-pyrrole is a tautomer of pyrrole that has the double bonds at positions 2 and 4. It is a pyrrole and a secondary amine. It is a tautomer of a 2H-pyrrole and a 3H-pyrrole.
Preparation
Pyrrole(109-97-7) originally was prepared industrially by fractional distillation of coal tar, bone oil or other protein material, and purified through formation of its potassium derivative (Runge, 1834; Michelman, 1925). Later it was produced by heating ammonium mucate with glycerol or mineral oil (Blicke and Powers, 1927; McElvain and Bollinger, 1941). It is now manufactured by addition of ammonia to either acetylene or butadiene. Good yields of pyrrole also may be obtained from the reaction of ammonia with the corresponding heterocyclic compound (furan) in a vapor-phase process at 480° to 500°C, using alumina as a catalyst (Thompson, 1972) or by catalytic reaction of furan with ammonia over a molybdenum or vanadium oxide catalyst at 350-400°C (Bishop and Denton, 1950).
Aroma threshold values
Detection: 20 to 49.6 ppm
General Description
Pyrrole is one of the flavor compounds that is formed in thermally processed foods due to the Maillard reaction.
Health Hazard
Pyrrole is harmful if swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin. Its vapor or
mist is irritating to the eyes, mucous membranes and upper respiratory tract
(Lenga, 1985; Sax, 1984). Although no cases of occupational disease due to
pyrrole have been reported, it has a depressant action on the central nervous
system and, in severe intoxication, it is injurious to the liver. Tests indicate that it
has moderate cumulative toxicity (Parmegianni, 1983).
Fire Hazard
Combustible liquid; flash point (closed cup)
39°C (102°F); vapor forms explosive mixtures
with air; LEL and UEL values are not
available. Heating with strong oxidizers can
be violent.
Industrial uses
Pyrrole is a five-member nitrogen heterocyclic ring that contains two carbon-carbon
double bond configurations which gives the solvent a pronounced aromatic
character. Pyrrole is an intermediate in the synthesis of a variety of commercial
chemical derivatives. Pyrrole has only limited solubility
in water but are miscible with many organic solvents.Pyrrole when freshly distilled
is a colorless liquid, but the solvent can rapidly acquire a brown coloration due to
air oxidation. Prolonged standing in the air will promote slow polymerization of the
pyrrole to give a dark brown polymer. Pyrrole has a viscosity of 1.31 centipoise
and a medium surface tension value of 37.1 dynes/cm.
pyrrole is used as a chemical intermediate in the
preparation of electrically conducting polypyrrole by means of an electrochemical
polymerization process. Pyrrole has few other industrial uses.
Industrial uses
Pyrrole is used to a limited extent as a solvent for polymeric esters, but its primary
value lies in its function as a chemical intermediate. It is used in the synthesis of
non-heterocyclic compounds (Kozikowski, 1984) and its derivatives have been
used in the manufacture of dyes, herbicides, perfumes, and as cross-linking agents
for curing resins (Thompson, 1972). Derivatives of pyrrole are utilized in pharmaceutical
applications, particularly as anti-inflammation drugs and drugs with
central nervous system activity, including antihypertensive effects (Sundberg,
1984); and as antimicrobial agents (Freeman, 1975), such as fungicides (Zirngibl,
1983) and bactericides (Bailey and Johnson, 1973; Bailey et al 1973; Sundberg,
1984). Polymers of pyrrole have been used in the preparation of photoconductive
materials. The main utility of poly(pyrrole) has been for the modification of
electrode surfaces, although numerous other applications can be envisioned (Heilmann
and Rasmussen, 1984).
Metabolism
Reports concerning the metabolites formed following administration of pyrrole
have been somewhat confusing. Saccardi (1919a, 1920) observed that administration
of pyrrole orally and by injection resulted in the formation of melanin in the
urine of rabbits, but not of dogs. Unchanged pyrrole was also found in the urine of
rabbits after injection of pyrrole (Saccardi, 1919b). Shimizu (1921) isolated
methylpyridine from the urine of rabbits and dogs given pyrrole and suggested that
pyrrole could be converted to pyridine derivatives in vivo. The transformations in
the body and the excretion products in the urine are, however, in question
(Fairhall, 1969). Novello (1927) injected rabbits subcutaneously with 0.5 g doses
of pyrrole hydrochloride and attempted to detect acetyl or methyl derivatives, but
was unsucessful. Approximately 40-50% of the nitrogen of the injected pyrrole
was excreted as urea. By the process of elimination, Novello (1927) concluded that the nitrogen not accounted for as urea nitrogen was excreted as unchanged
pyrrole. It did not appear that the pyrrole was oxidized to a secondary or tertiary
alcohol because there was no rise in ethereal sulfate or conjugated glucuronic acid
excretion. Kusui (1935) injected frogs with pyrrole and noted that although the
urine smelled of pyrrole, no free base could be isolated. Damani and Crooks
(1982) have suggested that pyrrole may be a likely substrate for hydroxylation at
C-2 and C-5, leading to ring opened products. They have not, however, studied the
biotransformation of pyrrole, but based their hypothesis on studies of the metabolism
of indole.
Pyrrole may affect the biotransformation of other compounds. Bernheim et al
(1938) observed that pyrrole acted as a catalyst for the oxidation of amines and
certain non-natural amino acids and catalyzed the formation of methemoglobin
from hemoglobin. On the other hand, pretreatment of rats with 100 mg/kg pyrrole
inhibited markedly the metabolism of dimethylnitrosamine in terms of both C02
excretion and decline in blood dimethylnitrosamine concentration (Phillips et al
1982).
Purification Methods
Dry pyrrole with NaOH, CaH2 or CaSO4. Fractionally distil it under reduced pressure from CaH2. Store it under nitrogen as it turns brown in air. Redistil it immediately before use. The picrate forms orange-red crystals with m 69o(dec). [Beilstein 20 H 4, 20 I 3, 20 II 3, 20 III/IV 61, 20/5 V 3.]
