Biurea is a chemical compound with the molecular formula C
2H
6N
4O
2. It is produced in food products containing
azodicarbonamide
Azodicarbonamide, ADCA, ACA, ADA, or azo(''bis'')formamide, is a chemical compound with the molecular formula . It is a yellow to orange-red, odorless, crystalline powder. It is sometimes called "the yoga mat chemical" because of widespread use i ...
, a common ingredient in bread flour, when they are cooked. Upon exposure, biurea is rapidly eliminated from the body through excretion.
Biurea is produced from
urea
Urea, also called carbamide (because it is a diamide of carbonic acid), is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two Amine, amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest am ...
and
hydrazine
Hydrazine is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a simple pnictogen hydride, and is a colourless flammable liquid with an ammonia-like odour. Hydrazine is highly hazardous unless handled in solution as, for example, hydraz ...
by
transamidation Transamidation is a chemical reaction in which an amide reacts with an amine to generate a new amide:
:RC(O)NR'2 + HNR"2 → RC(O)NR"2 + HNR'2
The reaction is typically very slow, but it can be accelerated with Lewis acid and organometallic ...
. Its major use is as a chemical intermediate in the production of
azodicarbonamide
Azodicarbonamide, ADCA, ACA, ADA, or azo(''bis'')formamide, is a chemical compound with the molecular formula . It is a yellow to orange-red, odorless, crystalline powder. It is sometimes called "the yoga mat chemical" because of widespread use i ...
, a common
blowing agent
A blowing agent is a substance which is capable of producing a cellular structure via a foaming process in a variety of materials that undergo hardening or phase transition, such as polymers, plastics, and metals. They are typically applied whe ...
.
References
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External links
Biurea NLM Hazardous Substances Data Bank
The Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) was a toxicology database on the U.S. National Library of Medicine's (NLM) Toxicology Data Network (TOXNET). It focused on the toxicology of potentially hazardous chemicals, and included information on hu ...
Semicarbazides
Ureas