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SAFETY NOTE: Diazomethane and Trimethylsilyldiazomethane are dangerous chemicals. Extreme caution should be taken in handling and using these compounds. Here are links to information from Wikipedia:
Trimethylsilyldiazomethane_wikipedia
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This post summarizes artficats (reaction by-products) noted in our laboratory from these derivatization reagents. It was a handout for a poster session from an ASMS conference. The work was never formally published. Diazomethane and Trimethylsilyldiazomethane reactions to form methyl ester derivatives are often employed to increase the volatility and stability of organic acids for gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Normally the reactions give the desired derivatives. However, sometimes artifacts (by-products) are noted.
The handout linked below lists all the types of artifacts noted in our laboratory in the last 15 years and ones we have found in the literature.
