Can someone please explain the chemistry of lidocaine synthesis to me. We made lidocaine in the lab and used 2,6 dimethylaniline, glacial acetic acid, chloracetyl chloride, sodium acetate, toluene, diethtylamine, hexane, HCL, potassium hydroxide and magnesium sulfate. I think this is pretty much a standard experiment in organic chemistry lab but I do not know the chemistry behind it. Can someone shed some light on this for me?