Description
Pimelic acid is the organic compound with the formula HO
2C(CH
2)
5CO
2H which has been synthesized from cyclohexanone and from salicylic acid. In the former route, the additional carbon is supplied by dimethyloxalate, which reacts with the enolate.
This acid (heptanedioic acid), from the Greek pimelh (pimele fat), as adipic acid, was isolated from oxidized fats. It was obtained in 1884 by Ganttner F et al. as a product of ricinoleic acid (hydroxylated oleic acid) from castor oil.
Chemical Properties
white solid
Uses
The major uses of pimelic acid are in plasticizers and
polymers.
Uses
Pimelic Acid is a metabolite found in four biofluids from dairy cows that may be used as biomarkers of milk.
Definition
ChEBI: An alpha,omega-dicarboxylic acid that is pentane with two carboxylic acid groups at positions C-1 and C-5.
Synthesis Reference(s)
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 78, p. 3425, 1956
DOI: 10.1021/ja01595a044Organic Syntheses, Coll. Vol. 2, p. 531, 1943
Synthesis, p. 54, 1988
Purification Methods
Crystallise the acid from water or from *benzene containing 5% diethyl ether. [Beilstein 1 IV 2003.]
