arsenobetaine

Also known as (Carboxymethyl)trimethylarsonium hydroxide inner salt, 9CI, Arsonium, (carboxymethyl)trimethyl-, hydroxide, inner salt, Arsenobetaine monohydrate, 2-(Trimethylarsonio)acetate, (carboxymethyl)trimethylarsonium hydroxide inner salt

Arsenobetaine is an organoarsenic compound found in fish. It is the arsenic analog of trimethylglycine, commonly known as betaine. The biochemistry and biosynthesis of this molecule are similar to those of choline and glycine betaine.

Chemical data

Formula: C5H11AsO2
Molecular weight: 178.06 g/mol
IUPAC name: 2-trimethylarsoniumylacetate
SMILES: C[As+](C)(C)CC(=O)[O-]
InChIKey: SPTHHTGLGVZZRH-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Polar surface area: 40.1 Å²
H-bond donors: 0
H-bond acceptors: 2
Formal charge: 0

via PubChem

Drug data · ChEMBL

Molecule type: Small molecule

via ChEMBL · EBI

Wikidata facts

Subclass of: chemical compound
Has part: carbon
Mass: 177.997

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found in taxon: Indo-Pacific sergeant
chemical formula: C₅H₁₁AsO₂
canonical SMILES: C[As+](C)(C)CC(=O)[O-]
Commons category: Arsenobetaine

Sources (3)

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Encyclopedic overview

3 sections

Contents

Safety
References
Further reading

Arsenobetaine is a common substance in marine biological systems and unlike many other organoarsenic compounds, such as trimethylarsine, it is relatively non-toxic. The compound may play a similar role as urea does for nitrogen, as a non-toxic waste compound made in the bodies of animals to dispose of the relevant element.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “arsenobetaine” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.