Amides

An amide is a nitrogen-containing compound that can be considered a derivative of ammonia, NH₃. Organic amides contain the group (-C=O). The simplest organic amide is methamide,

Inorganic amides consist of a metal or some other cation combined with the amide ion (-NH₂), as in sodium amide (NaNH₂). In comparison with their better known organic cousins, the inorganic amides are less important. One member of the inorganic family, sodium amide, does find some application as a dehydrating agent and in the production of the dye indigo, the rocket fuel hydrazine, sodium cyanide, and other compounds.

The synthesis of a protein results in a protein in the formation of an amide bond between adjacent amino acids. Proteins can be considered the most common examples of amides in the natural world. A naturally occurring amide is nicotinamide, one of the B vitamins. A third familiar natural amide is urea, also known as carbamide. Urea is the compound by which otherwise toxic wastes are excreted from mammalian bodies.