530-59-6

yellow-brown crystalline powder

4-Hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxycinnamic acid is a commonly used matrix in MALDI mass spectrometry. It is a useful matrix for a wide variety of peptides and proteins. It serves well as a matrix for MALDI due to its ability to absorb laser radiation and to also donate protons (H+) to the analyte of interest.

ChEBI: A monohydroxycinnamic acid that is cinnamic acid in which the phenyl hydrogens at positions 3, 4, and 5 are replaced by methoxy, hydroxy, and methoxy groups, respectively.

On removal of amino group from phenylalanine, catalysing with enzyme phenylalanine ammonia-lyase forms cinnamic acid. The precursor of hydroxycinnamates is produced after hydroxylation of benzene ring. One of the precursors produced is sinapic acid. Sinapic acid exhibits antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-anxiety activity. Sinapine (sinapoyl choline) has been acknowledged as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, making it therapeutically applicable in treatment of various diseases. 4-Vinylsyringol (a decarboxylation product of sinapic acid) is a potent antimutagenic and antioxidative agent, involved in suppressing the induction of inflammatory cytokines and carcinogenesis. Owing to their anti-oxidative activity, these compounds have been considered to be potentially employed in the pharmaceutical industry, cosmetics and food processing.

Crystallise it from water. [Beilstein 10 H 508, 10 IV 2104.]