Oxidative decarboxylation and deamination of essential amino acids by N-Bromonicotinamide- A kinetic study

Abstract

The kinetics of oxidation of valine, leucine, isoleucine and phenylalanine by N-Bromonicotinamide (NBN) in acetic acid-water in presence of hydrochloric acid has been studied. The reaction shows inverse order dependence on oxidant and [H + ]. Increase in [amino acid] has a slight positive effect on the rate, indicating fractional order dependence. Addition of salts like K 2 SO 4 , Na 2 SO 4 , KCI to the reaction medium has no effect on the rate. Increase in temperature increases the rate of the reaction. The activation parameters have been computed. A mechanism consistent with the results has been proposed.