Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 23, 2026

Muramic acid

Muramic acid is an amino sugar acid. In terms of chemical composition, it is the ether of lactic acid and glucosamine. It occurs naturally as N-acetylmuramic acid in peptidoglycan, whose primary function is a structural component of many typical bacterial cell walls.

Last revised
Jun 23, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
159 w
Citations
1
Source
Muramic acid
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Names
Preferred IUPAC name
2-[3-Amino-2,5-dihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-4-yl]oxypropanoic acid
Systematic IUPAC name
2-{[3-Amino-2,5-dihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-4-yl]oxy}propanoic acid
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
2334586
ChEBI
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.012.923
EC Number
  • 214-214-9
KEGG
UNII
  • InChI=1S/C9H17NO7/c1-3(8(13)14)16-7-5(10)9(15)17-4(2-11)6(7)12/h3-7,9,11-12,15H,2,10H2,1H3,(H,13,14)/t3-,4-,5-,6-,7-,9-/m1/s1 ☒N
    Key: MSFSPUZXLOGKHJ-KTZFPWNASA-N ☒N
  • CC(OC1C(N)C(O)OC(CO)C1O)C(O)=O
Properties
C9H17NO7
Molar mass 251.23378
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Muramic acid is an amino sugar acid. In terms of chemical composition, it is the ether of lactic acid and glucosamine. It occurs naturally as N-acetylmuramic acid in peptidoglycan, whose primary function is a structural component of many typical bacterial cell walls.1


References

References