Question

The alkaloid reaction takes place in presence of what?

(a) Primary nitrogen

(b) Secondary nitrogen

(c) Tertiary nitrogen

(d) None of the mentioned

I have been asked this question by my school principal while I was bunking the class.

Question is taken from Types of Alkylation topic in chapter Alkylation of Unit Processes

Answer 1

The correct choice is (c) Tertiary nitrogen

To explain I would say: Some of the most difficult oxygen alkylations are those involving the alkaloids, where the alkylation is often carried out to replace the hydrogen of the hydroxyl group in the presence of the tertiary nitrogen of the alkaloid.