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Definition

noun

A colorless to pale yellow reagent used to react with the amine group of the N-terminal amino acid, as used in Edman degradation

Supplement

Edman degradation is a method used in sequencing amino acids in a peptide that consists of no more than 50 residues.

The phenylisothiocyanate is just one of the many reagents to label terminal amino acids. It reacts with the free N-terminal amino group of a peptide chain to ultimately form a phenylthiohydantoin relevant in the identification of N-terminal amino acids.

Molecular formula: C₆H₅NCS

Abbreviation: PITC

Variant(s):

• phenyl isothiocyanate

Synonym(s):

• edman's reagent
• isothiocyanic acid
• phenyl ester
• isothiocyanatobenzene
• thiocarbanil

See also:

• Edman degradation

Mentioned in:

• PTC protein