Aspartame, the sweetener used in the commercial products...

Name: Problem 48, Chapter 17: Organic Chemistry
Uploaded: 2021-04-28T00:30:10-08:00
Duration: 4 min 25 s
Channel: Temi Ajayi
Description: Aspartame, the sweetener used in the commercial products NutraSweet and Equal , is 160 times sweeter than sucrose. What products would be obtained if aspartame were hydrolyzed completely in an aqueous solution of HCl?

Aspartame, the sweetener used in the commercial products NutraSweet and Equal , is 160 times sweeter than sucrose. What products would be obtained if aspartame were hydrolyzed completely in an aqueous solution of HCl?

Labs

Want to see this concept in action?

NEW

Explore this concept interactively to see how it behaves as you change inputs.

View Labs

Key Concepts

Dipeptide Structure

Dipeptides are molecules composed of two amino acids connected by a single peptide bond. In cases where dipeptides contain ester groups, as seen in some modified dipeptides, complete hydrolysis in acidic aqueous solution can lead to the formation of the individual amino acid units and the cleavage of any ester linkages present.

Peptide Bond Hydrolysis

This is the process of breaking the amide bonds that link amino acids together in peptides or proteins, typically using water in the presence of acid. Acid-catalyzed hydrolysis provides protons that weaken the amide bonds, allowing a water molecule to attack and split the bond, yielding free amino acids.

Ester Hydrolysis in Acidic Conditions

Under acidic conditions, an ester functional group can be hydrolyzed to yield a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. The acid protonates the carbonyl oxygen, increasing the electrophilicity of the carbon, which facilitates the nucleophilic attack by water resulting in cleavage of the ester linkage.

Amino Acids

Amino acids are organic compounds that serve as the building blocks of peptides and proteins. They contain both an amino group and a carboxyl group, and hydrolysis reactions often yield these free amino acid units from larger dipeptides or polypeptides.

Transcript

Please give Ace some feedback