Tropic acid
Encyclopedia
Tropic acid is a chemical with IUPAC name 3-hydroxy-2-phenylpropanoic acid and condensed structural formula
HOCH2CHPhCOOH. It is a laboratory reagent used in the chemical synthesis of atropine
and hyoscyamine
. Tropic acid is a chiral
substance, existing as either a racemic mixture or as a single enantiomer
.
Structural formula
The structural formula of a chemical compound is a graphical representation of the molecular structure, showing how the atoms are arranged. The chemical bonding within the molecule is also shown, either explicitly or implicitly...
HOCH2CHPhCOOH. It is a laboratory reagent used in the chemical synthesis of atropine
Atropine
Atropine is a naturally occurring tropane alkaloid extracted from deadly nightshade , Jimson weed , mandrake and other plants of the family Solanaceae. It is a secondary metabolite of these plants and serves as a drug with a wide variety of effects...
and hyoscyamine
Hyoscyamine
Hyoscyamine is a tropane alkaloid. It is a secondary metabolite found in certain plants of the Solanaceae family, including henbane , mandrake , jimsonweed , tomato and deadly nightshade...
. Tropic acid is a chiral
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....
substance, existing as either a racemic mixture or as a single enantiomer
Enantiomer
In chemistry, an enantiomer is one of two stereoisomers that are mirror images of each other that are non-superposable , much as one's left and right hands are the same except for opposite orientation. It can be clearly understood if you try to place your hands one over the other without...
.