Talk:Beta-methylamino L-alanine

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[edit] Different chemical?

Is Beta-N-methylamino-L-alanine (sometimes spelled ß-N-Methylamino-L-Alanine) the same chemical? Badagnani 16:23, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes...the "N-methyl" indicates a substituted amide. N-methyl amino acids are peptides analogues that are--due to the lack of amide protons--less polar (increasing their oral bio-availability) and not degraded by common proteases. I'll make redirects to the above, plus ß-N-methylamino-L-alanine, ß-methylamino L-alanine, & ß-methylamino-L-alanine. -- Scientizzle 18:33, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, I see in the article referenced at Fat choy that the Hong Kong scientists quoted say that the "N" stands for "nothing." It is confusing that the compound has different (alternate) names, but redirects and mentions of the alternate names in the article will help a lot. Please note that the symbol I gave is a German s-set (double s) and that the proper symbol would probably be the actual Greek beta. Thanks for your expertise. Badagnani 20:40, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the note on the beta...I'll fix that. β-methylamino-L-alanine β-N-methylamino-L-alanine β-methylamino L-alanine

RE: the reference from Fat choy [1], I have no idea where "Beta-Nothing-Methylamino-L-alanine" came from, but that's almost certainly not what the N stands for. N-methyl simply means a methyl group is attached to the nitrogen... -- Scientizzle 22:28, 31 January 2007 (UTC)