The hydroxymethyl group is the name for a
substituent with the
structural formula −CH
2−OH. It consists of a
methylene bridge
In organic chemistry, a methylene bridge, methylene spacer, or methanediyl group is any part of a molecule with formula ; namely, a carbon atom bound to two hydrogen atoms and connected by single bonds to two other distinct atoms in the rest of t ...
(−CH
2− unit) bonded to a
hydroxyl group (−OH). This makes the hydroxymethyl group an
alcohol. It has the identical chemical formula with the
methoxy group (−O−CH
3) that differs only in the attachment site and orientation to the rest of the molecule. However, their
chemical properties
A chemical property is any of a material's properties that becomes evident during, or after, a chemical reaction; that is, any quality that can be established only by changing a substance's chemical identity.William L. Masterton, Cecile N. Hurley, ...
are different.
Hydroxymethyl is the
side chain
In organic chemistry and biochemistry, a side chain is a chemical group that is attached to a core part of the molecule called the "main chain" or backbone. The side chain is a hydrocarbon branching element of a molecule that is attached to a ...
of
encoded amino acid serine.
References
External links
Functional groups
{{Organic-compound-stub