Generation and use of tritiated borane in situ for formamide tritiation to an N-methyl-3 H group.

The synthesis of [N-methyl-3 H](+/-)-mecamylamine is described as an example of a convenient and mild method to reduce formamide groups using tritiated borane generated in situ. The product was characterized by thin layer chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and tritium NMR.