Biuret

noun Chemistry.

1. a white crystalline substance, C2H5O2N3⋅H2O, soluble in wate
r and alcohol, used for the identification ofurea, from which it
is formed on heating.

Origin of biuret:
 German Biuret (1847)

Also called allophanamide, carbamylurea.

Preparation:
A biuret is a condensation product between two urea molecules which is
formed after the loss of an ammonia molecule.

Biuret substances is also used as cattle supplements as it is a non-protein

nitrogen source.

Also in chemistry there is something called the Biuret test, it is basically used
to detect the presence of peptide bonds, the biuret reagent solution turns
violet in the presence of peptide bonds in an alkaline medium.

The parent compound can be prepared by heating urea above the melting

point at which temperature ammonia is expelled:

2 CO(NH2)2 → H2N-CO-NH-CO-NH2 + NH3

Under related conditions, pyrolysis of urea affords triuret ((H2N-CO-

NH)2CO). In general, organic biurets (those with alkyl or aryl groups in place
of one or more H atoms) are prepared by trimerization of isocyanates. For
example, the trimer of 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate is also known as HDI-
biuret.

Applications:
Biuret is also used as a non-protein nitrogen source in ruminant feed, where it is
converted into protein by gut microorganisms It is less favored than urea, due to its
higher cost and lower digestibility but this characteristic also slows down its digestion
and so decreases the risk of ammonia toxicity.