Alkylation reactions of active methylene compounds, alcohols and phenols with alkyl halides in aqueous NaOH solution can be carried out without the need for any added organic solvents in most cases. The water-soluble calix[n]arenes, which contain trimethylammoniomethyl groups on the upper rim, were used as inverse phase-transfercatalysts, resulting in the corresponding alkylated products in good to
4-alkyl-substituted 1-aminonaphthalene-2-carbonitriles and their analogues were prepared and evaluated for growth-inhibiting activity against four phytopathogenic fungi: Fusarium culmorum, Alternaria brassicicola, Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium expansum. The results obtained were compared with the activity of a commercial fungicide. The highest fungistatic activity was revealed by amino nitriles having hydrogen atoms