page_title: Reuterin
section_title: Solution structure
hierarchical_section_title: Reuterin / Solution structure
caption_attribution_description: English: structure of the dimer of hydrated 3-hydroxypropanal
context_page_description: Reuterin is the organic compound with the formula HOCH₂CH₂CHO. It is a bifunctional molecule, containing both a hydroxy and aldehyde functional groups.
  The name reuterin is derived from Lactobacillus reuteri, which produces the compound biosynthetically from glycerol as a broad-spectrum antibiotic. L. reuteri itself is named after the microbiologist Gerhard Reuter, who did early work in distinguishing it as a district species.
context_section_description: In aqueous solution 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde exists in equilibrium with its hydrate (1,1,3-propanetriol), in which the aldehyde group converts to a geminal diol:
  HOCH₂CH₂CHO +  H₂O →  HOCH₂CH₂CH(OH)₂
  The hydrate is also in equilibrium with its dimer (2-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4-hydroxy-1,3-dioxane), which dominates at high concentrations. These three components - the aldehyde, its dimer, and the hydrate are therefore in a dynamic equilibrium.
  Besides, 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde suffers an spontaneous dehydration in aqueous solution, and the resulting molecule is called acrolein. 
  In fact, the term reuterin is the name given to the dynamic system formed by 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde, its hydrate, the dimer, and acrolein. This last molecule, acrolein, was recently included in reuterin definition.
caption: Structure of the dimer of 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde
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