Preparing L-α-Glycerophosphocholine in a Phase-Transfer Catalytic Reaction: Kinetic Study

The transesterification of phosphatidylcholine with methanol was successfully carried out using a promising solvent methyl tert-butyl ether instead of traditional ether, and the reaction was dramatically enhanced in the presence of tetrabutylammonium hydroxide as the phase-transfer catalyst. Kinetics of the reaction including the effects of the reaction conditions on the conversion of phosphatidylcholine and the apparent rate constant (k app) were investigated in detail. On the basis of the experimental evidence, the transesterification mechanism was proposed and a kinetic model was developed, and the experimental data were well described by the pseudo-first-order equation. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.