14N NQR study of some local anesthetics

Nitrogen-14 nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) spectra for eleven local anesthetics in the solid state are reported and analyzed using the Townes and Dailey approach. The changes in the electron distributions at various nitrogen sites, produced by protonating the tertiary amino nitrogen, are discussed and shown to be in general agreement with expectations based on the increased electrophilic character of the protonated amino group.