Trimethylamine N-oxide Trimethylamine N-oxide Trimethylamine "N"-oxide (TMAO) is an organic compound with the formula (CH)NO. It is in the class of amine oxides. Although the anhydrous compound is known, trimethylamine "N"-oxide is usually encountered as the dihydrate. It is a product of the oxidation of trimethylamine, a common metabolite in animals. Both the anhydrous and hydrated materials are white, water-soluble solids. Trimethylamine "N"-oxide is an osmolyte found in saltwater fishes, sharks, rays, molluscs, and crustaceans. It is considered as a protein stabilizer that may serve to counteract urea, the major osmolyte of sharks, skates and rays. It is also higher in deep-sea
Nitrous oxide and inhibit pain signalling. Exactly how causes the release of endogenous opioid peptides remains uncertain. Nitrous oxide is a colourless, non-toxic gas with a faint, sweet odour. Nitrous oxide supports combustion by releasing the dipolar bonded oxygen radical, thus it can relight a glowing splint. The above reaction is the route adopted by the commercial chemical industry to produce azide salts, which are used as detonators. The gas was first synthesised in 1772 by English natural philosopher and chemist Joseph Priestley, who called it "phlogisticated nitrous air" (see phlogiston) or "inflammable nitrous air". Priestley published his discovery in the book