“…Naltrexone, prepared from oxymorphone in several steps, is converted into (R)-methylnaltrexone 10 by alkylation with iodomethane, bromomethane, or dimethyl sulfate, followed by multiple crystallizations to pure (R)-methylnaltrexone (MNTX). Although direct methylations of naltrexone have been reported 10,11 it is more customary to protect the C-3 phenol with benzyl, 12 acyl, 13 ethyloxycarbonyl, 14 or silyl 15 protecting groups (Scheme 2). After deprotection the NMTX salt is carefully deprotonated to obtain zwitterion 10, which, because of its limited solubility, is easily filtered off and later dissolved in aqueous HBr.…”