Melissic acid (or triacontanoic acid) is the organic compound with the formula CH₃(CH₂)₂₈CO₂H. It is classified as a

very long chain fatty acid A very-long-chain fatty acid (VLCFA) is a fatty acid with 22 or more carbons. Their biosynthesis occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum. VLCFA's can represent up to a few percent of the total fatty acid content of a cell. Unlike most fatty acids, V ...

, a subset of

saturated fatty acid A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branched ch ...

s. It is a white solid that is soluble in organic solvents. Melissic acid gets its name from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word

melissa Melissa is a female given name. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey". ''Melissa'' also refers to the plant ''Me ...

meaning bee, since it was found in

beeswax Beeswax (''cera alba'') is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus ''Apis''. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in or at the hive. The hive workers ...

Synthesis

''n''-Triacontanoic acid was synthesized by Bleyberg and Ulrich (1931) and by G.M. Robinson.

Self-assembly

Triacontanoic acid and triacontanamide (CH₃(CH₂)₂₈-CONH₂) can be self-assembled.

References

External links

Melissic acid
at the ''Nature Lipidomics Gateway'' {{Fatty acids Fatty acids Alkanoic acids

Synthesis

Self-assembly

See also

References

External links