Imidazole

Imidazole (ImH) is an organic compound. It is an aromatic ring with five atoms, three carbon and two nitrogen. Its chemical formula is C₃H₄N₂^[1] or C₃H₃(NH)N. Imidazole is an aromatic compound.^[2] It is a white or colourless solid at 25 degrees Celsius at standard atmosphere (a pressure). It i is soluble in water, producing a mildly alkaline solution.^[source?]

Ball-and-stick model of imidazole. White balls are hydrogen atoms, black balls are carbon atoms, and blue balls are nitrogen atoms. The

Role in biology

Many natural products, especially alkaloids, have the imidazole ring. This ring system is present in important biological building blocks, such as histidine, and the related hormone, histamine.^[source?]

Properties

Only one of the nitrogen atoms in imidizole acts as a base.^[3] The other nitrogen atom is bonded to a hydrogen atom that acts like a weak acid.^[4] Because it can be both an acid and a base, imidazole is amphoteric.