DL-Penicillamine

DL-Penicillamine is the racemic form of beta,beta-dimethylcysteine, combining a thiol group with amino and carboxylic acid functions. It acts as a metal-binding reagent and a multifunctional synthetic precursor. Sulfur and the additional donor groups enable coordination chemistry, while the amino-acid framework permits derivatization through amide formation or sulfur modification.

Unlike isolated D- or L-penicillamine, the selected material contains both enantiomers. It is therefore useful for non-enantiospecific chemistry and for studies that explicitly require a racemic starting material. Its hindered thiol differentiates it from cysteine in oxidation and complex formation. The racemate should not be represented as equivalent to pharmaceutical D-penicillamine, because chemical composition and stereochemical requirements differ.

Typical Applications

• Metal-binding and chelation experiments: Used in solution-phase studies of metal–ligand interaction, including copper binding, where the thiol-containing amino-acid structure provides multiple potential coordination sites.
• Racemic sulfur-containing derivatives: Used as a starting material for amide, ester or sulfur-functionalized penicillamine derivatives when synthesis does not require a single enantiomer at the initial stage.
• Stereochemical separation studies: Used as the racemic feed in resolution and chiral-separation development, allowing the D and L forms of the same hindered amino acid to be distinguished and recovered.

Specifications

Specifications describe the standard grade. Tolerance, test method and documentation package are confirmed per order.