Bicine is an

organic compound Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...

used as a

buffering agent A buffer solution is a solution where the pH does not change significantly on dilution or if an acid or base is added at constant temperature. Its pH changes very little when a small amount of strong acid or base is added to it. Buffer solution ...

. It is one of

Good's buffers Good's buffers (also Good buffers) are twenty buffering agents for biochemistry, biochemical and biology, biological research selected and described by Norman Good and colleagues during 1966–1980. Most of the buffers were new zwitterionic compoun ...

and has a pKa of 8.35 at 20 °C. It is prepared by the reaction of

glycine Glycine (symbol Gly or G; ) is an amino acid that has a single hydrogen atom as its side chain. It is the simplest stable amino acid. Glycine is one of the proteinogenic amino acids. It is encoded by all the codons starting with GG (G ...

with

ethylene oxide Ethylene oxide is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula . It is a cyclic ether and the simplest epoxide: a three-membered ring (chemistry), ring consisting of one oxygen atom and two carbon atoms. Ethylene oxide is a colorless ...

, followed by hydrolysis of the resultant

lactone Lactones are cyclic carboxylic esters. They are derived from the corresponding hydroxycarboxylic acids by esterification. They can be saturated or unsaturated. Lactones are formed by lactonization, the intramolecular esterification of the corresp ...

. Bicine is a contaminant in amine systems used for gas sweetening. It is formed by amine degradation in the presence of O₂, SO₂, H₂S or Thiosulfate.

References

{{reflist Buffer solutions Hydroxy acids Zwitterions Acetic acids Diols

See also

References