Amides

=Amides=

An amide is an organic compound created when an amine with a hydrogen bonded to nitrogen undergoes a condensation reaction with carboxylic acids. In the reaction the OH of the carboxylic acid is replaced by NR2 (where R represents hydrogen or a hydrocarbon group). This reaction forms peptide bonds between amino acids, which is why amides are the key functional group in protein structures. The amide formed from the reaction can participate in hydrogen bonding as a hydrogen acceptor or donor, but unlike amines it does not ionize in aqueous solution.



Amides are the most stable of all the carbonyl function groups. They are very weak bases and do not contain very noticeable acid base properties in water, and have a very low solubility despite the presence of hydrogen bonding. An amide can be broken down through a process known as amide hydrolysis.

Examples:




Works Cited: //Chemistry: The Central Science// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/amide http://www.amide.net/