Succinimide is an
organic compound
In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. The ...
with the formula (CH
2)
2(CO)
2NH. This white solid is used in a variety of organic syntheses, as well as in some industrial silver plating processes. The compound is classified as a cyclic
imide
In organic chemistry, an imide is a functional group consisting of two acyl groups bound to nitrogen. The compounds are structurally related to acid anhydrides, although imides are more resistant to hydrolysis. In terms of commercial applications, ...
. It may be prepared by
thermal decomposition
Thermal decomposition, or thermolysis, is a chemical decomposition caused by heat. The decomposition temperature of a substance is the temperature at which the substance chemically decomposes. The reaction is usually endothermic as heat is req ...
of
ammonium
The ammonium cation is a positively-charged polyatomic ion with the chemical formula or . It is formed by the protonation of ammonia (). Ammonium is also a general name for positively charged or protonated substituted amines and quaternary a ...
succinate
Succinic acid () is a dicarboxylic acid with the chemical formula (CH2)2(CO2H)2. The name derives from Latin ''succinum'', meaning amber. In living organisms, succinic acid takes the form of an anion, succinate, which has multiple biological ro ...
.
Succinimides
Succinimides refers to compounds that contain the succinimide group. These compounds have some notable uses. Several succinimides are used as
anticonvulsant
Anticonvulsants (also known as antiepileptic drugs or recently as antiseizure drugs) are a diverse group of pharmacological agents used in the treatment of epileptic seizures. Anticonvulsants are also increasingly being used in the treatment of b ...
drugs, including
ethosuximide
Ethosuximide, sold under the brand name Zarontin among others, is a medication used to treat absence seizures. It may be used by itself or with other antiseizure medications such as valproic acid. Ethosuximide is taken by mouth.
Ethosuximide i ...
,
phensuximide
Phensuximide is an anticonvulsant in the succinimide
Succinimide is an organic compound with the formula (CH2)2(CO)2NH. This white solid is used in a variety of organic syntheses, as well as in some industrial silver plating processes. The compo ...
, and
methsuximide
Mesuximide (or methsuximide, methosuximide) is a succinimide anticonvulsant medication. It is sold as a racemate by Pfizer under the tradenames Petinutin (Switzerland) and Celontin (United States). The therapeutic efficacy of methosuximide is larg ...
.
Succinimides are also used to form covalent bonds between
proteins
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
or
peptides
Peptides (, ) are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Long chains of amino acids are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides.
A p ...
and plastics, which is useful in a variety of
assay
An assay is an investigative (analytic) procedure in laboratory medicine, mining, pharmacology, environmental biology and molecular biology for qualitatively assessing or quantitatively measuring the presence, amount, or functional activity of a ...
techniques.
See also
*
Succinic anhydride
Succinic anhydride, is an organic compound with the molecular formula (CH2CO)2O. This colorless solid is the acid anhydride of succinic acid.
Preparation
In the laboratory, this material can be prepared by dehydration of succinic acid. Such dehy ...
*
''N''-Hydroxysuccinimide
*
''N''-Bromosuccinimide
References
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