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Dehydration reaction

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Dehydration reaction

In chemistry, a dehydration reaction is a chemical reaction that involves the loss of an H2O from the reacting molecule(s) or ion(s). This reaction results in the release of the H2O as water. When the reaction involves the coupling of two molecules into a single molecule it is referred to as a condensation reaction. Dehydration reactions are common processes in the manufacture of chemical compounds as well as naturally occurring within living organisms.

The reverse of a dehydration reaction is called a hydration reaction. The reverse of a condensation reaction yielding water is called hydrolysis.

Condensation dehydration reactions are fundamental to the existence of life as this type of reaction produces proteins from amino acids, DNA and RNA from nucleotides, fats from fatty acids, and polysaccharides (eg. cellulose, starch, sugar, lactose) from monosaccharides (eg. glucose and fructose).

The formation of the pyrophosphate bond is an important dehydration reaction relevant to bioenergetics. Phosphorylation is a type of condensation dehydration reaction that is widely used to catalyze condensation reactions in living organisms. This phosphorylation usually involves the simultaneous dephosphorylation of ATP and therefore does not result in the release of H2O.

These reactions are all mediated by enzymes.

The classic example of a dehydration reaction is the Fischer esterification, which involves treating a carboxylic acid with an alcohol to give an ester

Often such reactions require the presence of a dehydrating agent, i.e. a substance that reacts with water.

Two monosaccharides, such as glucose and fructose, can be joined together (to form saccharose) using dehydration synthesis. The new molecule, consisting of two monosaccharides, is called a disaccharide.

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