Imidazole is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound. This ring system is present in important biological building blocks such as histidine and histamine. Imidazoles can act as bases (pKa = 7.0) and as a weak acids (pKa = 14.5). Imidazoles exists in two tautomeric forms with a hydrogen atom moving between the two nitrogens.
Many drugs contain an imidazole ring, see for instance antifungal drugs and nitroimidazole.
See also
External references
Heterocyclic Chemistry TL Gilchrist, The Bath press 1985 ISBN 0582014212
Last updated: 05-15-2005 13:51:02