Formula C11H19NO8 | ||
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N-Acetylmuramic acid, or MurNAc, is the ether of lactic acid and N-acetylglucosamine with a chemical formula of C11H19NO8. It is part of a biopolymer in the bacterial cell wall, built from alternating units of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and N-acetylmuramic acid (MurNAc), cross-linked with oligopeptides at the lactic acid residue of MurNAc. This layered structure is called peptidoglycan.
MurNAc is a monosaccharide derivative of N-acetylglucosamine.
Clinical significance
N-Acetylmuramic acid (MURNAc) is part of the peptidoglycan polymer of Gram-positive bacterial cell walls. MURNAc is covalently linked to N-acetylglucosamine and may also be linked through the hydroxyl on carbon number 4 to the carbon of L-alanine (Figure 9.26). A pentapeptide composed of L-alanyl-d--isoglutaminyl-L-lysyl-D-alanine-D-alanine is added to the MURNAc in the process of making the peptidoglycan strands of the cell wall.
Synthesis is inhibited by fosfomycin.
