Names | |
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Preferred IUPAC name
3-Methyl-2-oxobutanoic acid | |
Other names
2-Ketoisovaleric acid; α-Ketovaline
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Identifiers | |
3D model (
JSmol)
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ChEBI | |
ChEMBL | |
ChemSpider | |
DrugBank | |
ECHA InfoCard | 100.010.969 |
KEGG | |
PubChem
CID
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UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (
EPA)
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Properties | |
C5H8O3 | |
Molar mass | 116.116 g·mol−1 |
Appearance | colorless or white solid or oil |
Melting point | 31.5 °C (88.7 °F; 304.6 K) |
Boiling point | 170.5 °C (338.9 °F; 443.6 K) |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their
standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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α-Ketoisovaleric acid is an organic compound with the formula (CH3)2CHC(O)CO2H. It is a ketoacid. With a melting point just above room temperature, it is usually an oil or semi-solid. The compound is colorless. It is a metabolite of valine and a precursor to pantothenic acid, a prosthetic group found in several cofactors. In the biological context, is usually encountered as its conjugate base ketoisovalerate, (CH3)2CHC(O)CO2−. [1]
α-Ketoisovalerate undergoes hydroxymethylation to give ketopantoate: [1]
This conversion is catalyzed by ketopantoate hydroxymethyltransferase.
Like many α-ketoacids, α-ketoisovaleric acid is prone to decarboxylation to give isobutyraldehyde:
Genetic engineering has been used to produce the biofuel isobutanol by reduction of isobutyraldehyde obtained from ketoisovalerate. [2]