Application of Phase Transfer Catalyst for Synthesizing of 5, 5-diphenylimidazolidine-2,4-dione as a Famous Anticonvulsant Drug

Epilepsy is a major neurological disorder in the world and most epileptics are currently controlled by a variety of drugs. 5, 5-diphenylimidazolidine-2,4-dione (phenytoin, i) is a widely used antiepileptic drug. it has been synthesized previously by different methods in some solvents. in this work, i was synthesized from the condensation of benzil and urea in ethanol and water by application of phase transfer catalyst and without it. results indicated that higher yield was obtained when the catalyst used.