Kinetics and mechanism of blue tetrazolium reaction with corticosteroids.

The kinetics of the reaction of blue tetrazolium with corticosteroids were investigated under pseudo-first-order conditions. The reaction rates for various corticosteroids were determined at various temperatures, and the enthalpy and entropy of activation for these compounds were determined. A mechanism is proposed in which an electron pair and a proton are transferred to blue tetrazolium from the anion formed by the action of tetramethylammonium hydroxide on the alpha-carbonyl moiety of the corticosteroid. The proposed mechanism is consistent with previous experimental results.