Cyanuric acid is widely used in swimming pools and is generated as a metabolic intermediate during the bacterial metabolism of s-triazine pesticides (Karnes, 1999). It is further metabolized by bacteria and fungi via hydrolytic enzymes that ultimately release the nitrogen as ammonia. For twenty-five years, it was thought that cyanuric acid metabolism proceeded through urea as an intermediate. More recent studies (Cheng et al., 2005) have shown that urea is derived from spontaneous decarboxylation of allophanate during purification of metabolites. Thus, cyanuric acid metabolism to 3 mol of ammonia is now shown to proceed exclusively via biuret and allophanate.
The following is a text-format Cyanuric acid pathway map. Follow the links for more information on compounds or reactions. This map is also available in graphic (8k) format.
from the------>Cyanuric acid
Atrazine and |
N-cyclopropylmelamine | cyanuric acid
Pathways | hydrolase
|
v
Biuret
|
|
| biuret
| hydrolase
|
v
Allophanate
|
|
| allophanate
| hydrolase
|
v
Carbon dioxide
|
|
|
|
|
v
to the
C1 Metabolic Cycle
Page Author(s): Prasad Kotharu
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