Oxygen and Peroxide Oxidations

Similar oxidation reactions also occur with aliphatic amino compounds. Thus, with tertiary amines, the corresponding A-oxides are formed, and it is common for these materials to be highly crystalline. As shown in Equation 10.29, trimethylamine forms the corresponding hygroscopic A-oxide. 

On the other hand, bacteria, yeast, plants, and mammals all possess copper-containing proteins, called copper amine oxidases or CAOs, which serve to 

As might be expected, copper (Cu) is needed to maintain normal CAO levels as some is lost in normal metabolism. So in, for example, poultry, copper deficiency results in changes in elastin and death (largely) due to aortic ruptures. 

More generally, the oxidative breakdown of amino adds results in the formation of ammonia, urea, and/or (Chapter 13) uric add (Equation 10.33). 

Similarly, the secondary amine oxides formed with oxygen and/or peroxide, having rearranged to the corresponding hydroxylamines are subsequently oxidized further with, for example, silver oxide (Ag20) in ether, to produce stable free 

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