Definition
Glutamic acid (Fig. 1) is one of the 20 protein amino acids, whose three-letter symbol is Glu and one-letter symbol is E. Its compositional structure is C5H9N4, and its molecular weight is 147.13. It is a monoaminodicarboxylic acid and is classified as an acidic amino acid, whose isoelectric point (pI) is 3.22. Its salt is referred to as glutamate: monosodium glutamate is a popular condiment. When it is heated, intramolecular condensation occurs to give pyroglutamic acid (Fig. 2). It is found in extracts from carbonaceous chondrites and is easily produced in a number of prebiotic synthesis experiments such as electric discharge experiments.
Glutamic acid
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Kobayashi, K. (2014). Glutamic Acid. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_654-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_654-4
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