Trimethylamine

Trimethylamine is an organic compound with the formula N(CH₃)₃. This colorless, hygroscopic, and flammable tertiary amine has a strong "fishy" odor in low concentrations and an ammonia-like odor at higher concentrations. It is a gas at room temperature but is usually sold in pressurized gas cylinders or as a 40% solution in water.

Trimethylamine is a product of decomposition of plants and animals. It is the substance mainly responsible for the odor often associated with rotting fish, some infections, bad breath and can be a cause of vaginal odor due to bacterial vaginosis. It is also associated with taking large doses of choline and carnitine.

Trimethylamine is a nitrogenous base and can be readily protonated to give trimethylammonium cation. Trimethylammonium chloride is a hygroscopic colorless solid prepared from hydrochloric acid. Trimethylamine is a good nucleophile, and this reaction is the basis of most of its applications.

Production

Trimethylamine is prepared by the reaction of ammonia and methanol employing a catalyst:

NME3

Nucleoside diphosphate kinase 3 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the NME3 gene.

Interactions

NME3 has been shown to interact with NME1 and NME2.

References

Further reading