Maleamic acid 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 ...

with the formula . It is the

amide In organic chemistry, an amide, also known as an organic amide or a carboxamide, is a chemical compound, compound with the general formula , where R, R', and R″ represent any group, typically organyl functional group, groups or hydrogen at ...

formed by reaction of

maleic anhydride Maleic anhydride is an organic compound with the formula . It is the acid anhydride of maleic acid. It is a colorless or white solid with an acrid odor. It is produced industrially on a large scale for applications in coatings and polymers. Str ...

with ammonia. It is a colorless solid. Maleamic acid is the product of the action of the

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

maleimide hydrolase.

Related compounds

A variety of maleamic acids are known. Commonly they are prepared by the reaction of an

amine In chemistry, amines (, ) are organic compounds that contain carbon-nitrogen bonds. Amines are formed when one or more hydrogen atoms in ammonia are replaced by alkyl or aryl groups. The nitrogen atom in an amine possesses a lone pair of elec ...

with maleic anhydride. Aside from maleic anhydride, other common cyclic anhydrides (and imides) undergo ring-opening to give amido carboxylic acids.

Succinic anhydride Succinic anhydride, is an organic compound with the molecular formula (CH2CO)2O. This colorless solid is the acid anhydride of succinic acid. Preparation In the laboratory, this material can be prepared by dehydration of succinic acid. Such dehy ...

gives succinamic acid (), citraconic anhydride gives two isomers of citraconamic acid ( and ), and

phthalimide Phthalimide is the organic compound with the formula C6H4(CO)2NH. It is the imide derivative of phthalic anhydride. It is a Sublimation (phase transition), sublimable white solid that is slightly soluble in water but more so upon addition of bas ...

gives phthalamidic acid ().{{cite journal , doi=10.1021/cr60266a001 , title=Cyclic Carboxylic Monoimides , date=1970 , last1=Hargreaves , first1=Michael K. , last2=Pritchard , first2=J. G. , last3=Dave , first3=H. R. , journal=Chemical Reviews , volume=70 , issue=4 , pages=439–469

References

Amides Carboxylic acids