What molecule am I?
Valproic acid (VPA), formally 2-propylpentanoic acid, is a low鈥搈olecular weight branched-chain fatty acid.听It听is a derivative听of valeric (pentanoic) acid1, which occurs naturally in valerian (Valeriana officinalis), an Eastern Hemisphere flowering plant.
VPA has been known since at least the 1880s, when it was . In 1915, a monumental work on optically active fatty acids by Emil Abderhagen and Egon Eichwald at the University of Halle (Germany) , even though an inspection of its structure shows that that cannot be true.
VPA is widely used for treating several diseases, including epilepsy and bipolar disorder. Until the 1960s, it was used only as a solvent for pharmaceuticals and some industrial chemicals; but in 1963, George Carraz and colleagues at Laboratoire Berthier (Grenoble, France) discovered that all of the compounds they were testing for anticonvulsant activity . This serendipitous finding led to France鈥檚 approval of VPA for treating epilepsy in 1967. The US Food and Drug Administration granted similar approval in 1978.
VPA is well known for inhibiting histone deacetylases, enzymes that allow histone proteins to wrap DNA more tightly than they otherwise would. It also has the ability to reduce the stability of certain proteins, (CRISPR-associated protein 9), which plays an important role in prokaryotic adaptive immunity. Its precise mechanism-of-action for destabilizing Cas9, however, is still largely unknown.
Valproic acid听hazard information
| Hazard class* | GHS code and hazard statement | |
|---|---|---|
| Acute toxicity, oral, category 4 | H302鈥擧armful if swallowed |  |
| Skin corrosion/irritation, category 2 | H315鈥擟auses skin irritation | |
Serious eye damage/eye irritation, category 2A | H319鈥擟auses serious eye irritation | |
| Reproductive toxicity, category 1A | H360鈥擬ay damage fertility or the unborn child |  |
*Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.听
MOTW update
Phosphorus pentoxide1 (P4O10) was the Molecule of the Week for September 8, 2008. It is a powerful drying agent that can also be used to remove the elements of water from organic and inorganic compounds.
P4O10 has also found use as a metal-free acid catalyst. In a recent example, Evgeny A. Mostovich and colleagues at Novosibirsk State University (Russia) used it to promote the en route to fused, 蟺-extended spiro[4.4]nonane-1,6-diones, which may have valuable optoelectronic applications.
1. CAS Reg. No. 16752-60-6.
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Valproic acid听fast facts
| CAS Reg. No. | 99-66-1 |
nomenclature | Pentanoic acid, 2-propyl- |
| Empirical formula | C8H16O2 |
| Molar mass | 144.21听g/mol |
| Appearance | Colorless liquid |
| Boiling point | 222 掳C |
| Water solubility | 1.3 g/L |
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