Skip to main content

Amides Distinguished from Amines by the Carbonyl

This video presents the same text shown beside it, spoken and on screen. It adds nothing the text does not say.

State

An amide's nitrogen bonds directly to a carbonyl carbon, unlike an amine's nitrogen, which bonds only to carbon or hydrogen.

Show

The peptide bond linking amino acids is an amide, formed between one acid's carboxyl and the next's amine group.

Watch for

Amides are weaker bases than amines since the carbonyl draws density from nitrogen's lone pair — treating amide nitrogen as basic ignores this.