3,4-Diaminobutyric acid

3,4-Diaminobutyric acid is a non-proteinogenic amino acid featuring a four-carbon backbone bearing two primary amino substituents at the 3- and 4-positions, along with the standard amino and carboxyl functional groups characteristic of amino acids. The molecule contains multiple amine sites that can be protonated depending on pH, enabling side-chain-like electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding interactions in peptide or conjugate contexts, while the carboxyl group provides a handle for salt formation or activation chemistry. In synthetic and chemical biology workflows, it is used as a building block for preparing modified peptides, structure-activity studies, and amino acid derivatives where an extra diamino functionality is required for crosslinking, receptor-binding motif exploration, or analytical labeling strategies.

Designed for biological research and industrial applications, not intended for individual clinical or medical purposes.

CAT No: CP05401

CAS No:131530-16-0

Synonyms/Alias:3,4-Diaminobutanoicacid;131530-16-0;Butanoicacid,3,4-diamino-;3,4-DIAMINOBUTYRICACID;ACMC-1C6N2;SCHEMBL408226;CTK4B7356;MolPort-023-331-545;5843AA;ANW-63998;AKOS006283451;AK-57635;AM003809;KB-233940;TC-152743;FT-0648383;I14-37348

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M.F/Formula
C4H10N2O2
M.W/Mr.
118.02

3,4-Diaminobutyric acid is a diamino-functional amino acid building block featuring two primary amine groups on a short, flexible aliphatic backbone. This highly polar, strongly basic side-chain architecture makes it useful for constructing polyamine-like motifs, for introducing orthogonally addressable nitrogen functionality into peptides and conjugates, and for preparing cationic intermediates used in medicinal chemistry and biomaterials workflows. Researchers commonly select it when a diamino handle is required for further derivatization, salt formation, or incorporation into nitrogen-rich structures.

1. Peptide And Conjugate Building

3,4-Diaminobutyric acid is used as a nitrogen-rich amino acid building block for assembling peptides and peptide-like constructs where two amine functionalities are needed for downstream functionalization or for tuning charge density. In custom peptide synthesis workflows, it supports the incorporation of polyamine-mimetic segments that can be derivatized after assembly to introduce additional binding, solubility, or attachment points for bioconjugation. Medicinal chemistry groups also use it to generate cationic linkers and amine-functional scaffolds that integrate readily into larger synthetic sequences.

2. Bioconjugation And Surface Functionalization

3,4-Diaminobutyric acid serves as a practical precursor for preparing cationic conjugation reagents and for introducing amine-rich attachment elements onto surfaces, polymers, and biomaterial components. Because it contains two primary amines, it can be used to build multidentate coupling strategies that improve the density of reactive nitrogen sites available for subsequent coupling steps in labeling or immobilization workflows. Chemical biology and materials researchers frequently rely on such diamino building blocks to generate amine-functional coatings, linker layers, and intermediate conjugates for studying multivalent interactions and for stabilizing electrostatic association in engineered systems.

3. Pharmaceutical Intermediate Development

3,4-Diaminobutyric acid is widely applied in pharmaceutical intermediate development as a convenient diamino synthon for preparing nitrogen-rich heterocycle precursors, amine-bearing linkers, and polyamine-like fragments used in structure-activity relationship (SAR) chemistry. Process development and medicinal chemistry teams value the molecule's two primary amines for enabling iterative derivatization toward protected or activated amine intermediates, which can then be incorporated into larger drug-candidate scaffolds. Its straightforward functional-group pattern supports downstream transformations typical of industrial small-molecule synthesis programs where multiple nitrogen sites must be introduced in a controlled manner.

4. Cationic Polymer And Biomaterials Chemistry

3,4-Diaminobutyric acid is used in biomaterials science to create polycationic segments and amine-rich components for polymer functionalization, gene-delivery research materials, and charge-tunable coatings. The presence of two primary amines supports the design of nitrogen-dense repeat units or crosslinkable intermediates that can be further modified to adjust polymer architecture and surface charge. Materials and formulation researchers often select this building block to generate cationic polymers and linker chemistries that integrate into larger composite materials and scaffold systems used for controlled material-biomolecule association studies.

InChI
1S/C4H10N2O2/c5-2-3(6)1-4(7)8/h3H,1-2,5-6H2,(H,7,8)
InChI Key
XQKAYTBBWLDCBB-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Canonical SMILES
C(C(CN)N)C(=O)O

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