Question

Which of the following amino acid side chains can form an imine with a substrate?

Short answer

The answer is

Step-by-step solution

Amino acids

The amino acids are the compounds containing carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen. These are the substrate compounds for many of the biomolecule synthesis.

Explanation

The positively charged nitrogen of the protonated amine can accept the electrons that are left behind when the third and fourth carbon bond breaks.

In the absence of the protonated imine,the electrons would be delocalized onto a neutral oxygen. The netral oxygen is not as electron withdrawing as the positively charged nitrogen of the protonated imine. In other words, imine formation makes it eaisre to break the third and fourth carbon bond.

Hence the second one is the answer.