Aldimine

/ˈɔldɪmiːn/ noun

Definition

A chemical compound formed when an aldehyde reacts with a primary amine, creating a carbon-nitrogen double bond; also called a Schiff base.

Etymology

From aldehyde plus imine, combined in early 20th-century organic chemistry nomenclature. The term precisely describes the molecular structure (from an aldehyde rather than a ketone).

Kelly Says

Aldimines are absolutely critical in your body right now—your eyes' ability to see depends on light hitting a rhodopsin molecule that's held together by an aldimine linkage, making this humble chemical compound essential to human vision.

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