Transamination
Encyclopedia
There are two chemical reactions known as transamination (or aminotransfer). The first is the reaction between an amino acid
Amino acid
Amino acids are molecules containing an amine group, a carboxylic acid group and a side-chain that varies between different amino acids. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen...

 and an alpha-keto acid. The amino group is transferred from the former to the latter; this results in the amino acid being converted to the corresponding α-keto acid, while the reactant α-keto acid is converted to the corresponding amino acid (if the amino group is removed from an amino acid, an α-keto acid is left behind).

Transamination in biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...

 is accomplished by enzymes called transaminase
Transaminase
In biochemistry, a transaminase or an aminotransferase is an enzyme that catalyzes a type of reaction between an amino acid and an α-keto acid. To be specific, this reaction involves removing the amino group from the amino acid, leaving behind an α-keto acid, and transferring it to the...

s or aminotransferases. This process is an important step in the synthesis of some non-essential amino acid
Essential amino acid
An essential amino acid or indispensable amino acid is an amino acid that cannot be synthesized de novo by the organism , and therefore must be supplied in the diet.-Essentiality vs. conditional essentiality in humans:...

s (amino acids that are not supplied from the diet). The chirality
Chirality (chemistry)
A chiral molecule is a type of molecule that lacks an internal plane of symmetry and thus has a non-superimposable mirror image. The feature that is most often the cause of chirality in molecules is the presence of an asymmetric carbon atom....

 of an amino acid is determined during transamination.
This reaction uses the coenzyme PLP
Pyridoxal-phosphate
Pyridoxal-phosphate is a prosthetic group of some enzymes. It is the active form of vitamin B6, which comprises three natural organic compounds, pyridoxal, pyridoxamine and pyridoxine.-Role as a coenzyme:...

, and has been shown to be a kinetically perfect reaction
Catalytically perfect enzyme
A catalytically perfect enzyme or kinetically perfect enzyme is an enzyme that catalyzes so efficiently, that almost every time enzyme meets its substrate, the reaction occurs. kcat/Km factor of such enzyme is of order 108 to 109 M-1 s-1...

. The product of transamination reactions depend on the availability of alpha-keto acids. The products usually are either alanine
Alanine
Alanine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula CH3CHCOOH. The L-isomer is one of the 20 amino acids encoded by the genetic code. Its codons are GCU, GCC, GCA, and GCG. It is classified as a nonpolar amino acid...

, aspartate or glutamate, since their corresponding alpha-keto acids are produced through metabolism of fuels.

Lysine
Lysine
Lysine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCH4NH2. It is an essential amino acid, which means that the human body cannot synthesize it. Its codons are AAA and AAG....

 and threonine
Threonine
Threonine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCHCH3. Its codons are ACU, ACA, ACC, and ACG. This essential amino acid is classified as polar...

 are the only two amino acids that do not always undergo transamination.

The second type of transamination reaction, which can be described as a nucleophilic substitution
Nucleophilic substitution
In organic and inorganic chemistry, nucleophilic substitution is a fundamental class of reactions in which an electron nucleophile selectively bonds with or attacks the positive or partially positive charge of an atom or a group of atoms called the leaving group; the positive or partially positive...

 of one amine or amide anion on an amine or ammonium salt. For example, the attack of a primary amine by a primary amide anion can be used to prepare secondary amines:
RNH2 + R'NH → RR'NH + NH2


Symmetric secondary amines can be prepared using Raney nickel
Raney nickel
Raney nickel is a solid catalyst composed of fine grains of a nickel-aluminium alloy, used in many industrial processes. It was developed in 1926 by American]] engineer Murray Raney as an alternative catalyst for the hydrogenation of vegetable oils in industrial processes...

 (2RNH2 → R2NH + NH3). And finally, quaternary ammonium salts can be dealkylated using ethanolamine
Ethanolamine
Ethanolamine, also called 2-aminoethanol or monoethanolamine , is an organic chemical compound that is both a primary amine and a primary alcohol . Like other amines, monoethanolamine acts as a weak base...

:
R4N+ + NH2CH2CH2OH → R3N + RN+H2CH2CH2OH

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