amide

amide (ăm`īd), organic compound formed by reaction of an acid chloride, acid anhydride, or ester with an amine. Under strong acidic conditions an amide can be hydrolyzed to yield an amine and a carboxylic acid. The reverse of this process results in the loss of water and is used in nature to link amino acids to form proteins. See amino group; carboxyl group.

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amide

Any member of either of two classes of nitrogen-containing organic compounds related to ammonia and amines and containing a carbonyl group (−C=O; see functional group). The first class, covalent amides are formed by replacing the hydroxyl group (−OH) of an acid with an amino group (−NR₂, in which R may represent a hydrogen atom or an organic combining group, such as methyl). Amides formed from carboxylic acids, called carboxamides, are solids except for the simplest, formamide, a liquid. They do not conduct electricity, have high boiling points, and (when liquid) are good solvents. There are no practical natural sources of simple covalent amides, but the peptides and proteins in living systems are long chains (polymers) with peptide bonds (see covalent bond), which are amide linkages. Urea is an amide with two amino groups. Commercially important covalent amides include several used as solvents; others are the sulfa drugs and nylon. The second class, ionic (salt-like) amides (see ionic bond), are made by treating a covalent amide, an amine, or ammonia with a reactive metal (e.g., sodium) and are strongly alkaline.