Chapter 21, Problem 85E

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation: The two amino acids which are used to prepare aspartame and the portion of aspartame that can produce methanol are to be stated along with a chemical reaction.

Concept introduction: Amino acids are defined as organic compounds which contain amine $\left({\text{-NH}}_{\text{2}}\right)$ and carboxyl $\left(\text{-COOH}\right)$ functional groups, along with a side chain (R group) attached to each amino acid. When two or more amino acids are linked in a chain the carboxyl group joined to the amino group forming a bond $\text{-OC-NH-}$, known as peptide bond and the compound is known as peptide and a dipeptide is a peptide of two amino acid residues.

To determine: The two amino acids which are used to prepare aspartame and the portion of aspartame that can produce methanol with a complete chemical reaction.