Glycine (C2H5NO2): structure, properties and hazards

Names and identifiers

IUPAC name: 2-aminoacetic acid
Synonyms: aminoacetic acid, glycocoll, 2-Aminoacetic acid
+ 36 more
Aminoethanoic acid, Glycocoll, Glycolixir, Glicoamin, Glycosthene, Aciport, Padil, Hampshire glycine, Amitone, Leimzucker, Acetic acid, amino-, Aminoazijnzuur, Sucre de gelatine, Glicina, GLY (IUPAC abbrev), Glycinum, Glyzin, FEMA No. 3287, Acido aminoacetico, Acide aminoacetique, Acidum aminoaceticum, Glykokoll, Aminoessigsaeure, Hgly, DTXSID9020667, GLYCINE 1.5% IN PLASTIC CONTAINER, H2N-CH2-COOH, aminoacetate, NSC-25936, TE7660XO1C, AMINOACETIC ACID 1.5% IN PLASTIC CONTAINER, NSC25936, DTXCID90667, CHEBI:15428, Acid, Aminoacetic, Copper Salt Glycine
Molecular formula: C₂H₅NO₂
Empirical formula: C₂H₅NO₂
Molecular weight: 75.07 g/mol
Exact mass: 75.03203
CAS number: 56-40-6
PubChem CID: 750
Canonical SMILES: C(C(=O)O)N
Isomeric SMILES: C(C(=O)O)N
InChI: InChI=1S/C2H5NO2/c3-1-2(4)5/h1,3H2,(H,4,5)
InChIKey: DHMQDGOQFOQNFH-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Molfile

Names, InChI and the identifiers from PubChem, retrieved 2026-10-14.

Physical properties

TemperaturePressureDensity

Appearance: White crystals[3]
3 values
From Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB), the most authoritative source here.
Value As written Source
– Glycine appears as white crystals. (NTP, 1992) [1] CAMEO Chemicalscites National Toxicology Program, Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NTP). 1992. National Toxicology Program Chemical Repository Database. Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
– Dry Powder; CBI; Large Crystals; Liquid; Other Solid; Liquid [2] EPA Chemical Data Reporting (CDR)
–shown White crystals [3] Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)cites Lewis, R.J., Sr (Ed.). Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary. 13th ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1997., p. 545
Odor: Odorless[3]
Melting point: 233 °C (451 °F, NTP 1992)[1]
Density: 1.1607 (NTP, 1992) - Denser than water[1]
Solubility in water: water solubility = 2.49 × 10⁵ mg/l @ 25 °C[3]
2 values
From Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB), the most authoritative source here.
Value As written Source
– greater than or equal to 100 mg/mL at 64 °F (NTP, 1992) [1] CAMEO Chemicalscites National Toxicology Program, Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NTP). 1992. National Toxicology Program Chemical Repository Database. Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
–shown water solubility = 2.49X10+5 mg/l @ 25 °C [3] Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)cites Yalkowsky SH, Dannenfelser RM; The AQUASOL dATAbASE of Aqueous Solubility. Fifth Ed, Tucson, AZ: Univ Az, College of Pharmacy (1992)
log P: log Kow = -3.21[3]
pKa: pKa = 2.37 @ 20 °C[3]

Value	As written	Source
–	Glycine appears as white crystals. (NTP, 1992)	[1] CAMEO Chemicalscites National Toxicology Program, Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NTP). 1992. National Toxicology Program Chemical Repository Database. Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
–	Dry Powder; CBI; Large Crystals; Liquid; Other Solid; Liquid	[2] EPA Chemical Data Reporting (CDR)
–shown	White crystals	[3] Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)cites Lewis, R.J., Sr (Ed.). Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary. 13th ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1997., p. 545

Value	As written	Source
–	greater than or equal to 100 mg/mL at 64 °F (NTP, 1992)	[1] CAMEO Chemicalscites National Toxicology Program, Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NTP). 1992. National Toxicology Program Chemical Repository Database. Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
–shown	water solubility = 2.49X10+5 mg/l @ 25 °C	[3] Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)cites Yalkowsky SH, Dannenfelser RM; The AQUASOL dATAbASE of Aqueous Solubility. Fifth Ed, Tucson, AZ: Univ Az, College of Pharmacy (1992)

Each value as its source reports it, with the source's number after it (listed under References). Where several sources report a property, the row shows the value most of them agree on, the rule the app uses; open the values to see every one.

Calculated

Heavy atoms: 5
Rings: 0
Aromatic rings: 0
Fraction sp³ carbons (Fsp3): 0.5
H-bond donors: 2
H-bond acceptors: 2 computed here · PubChem 3
Rotatable bonds: 1
TPSA (Å²): 63.3
Formal charge: 0
XLogP3: -3.2 PubChem
Complexity: 42 PubChem
Stereocenters: None
Double-bond geometry: None specified
Point group: Cs of one 3D conformer with its hydrogens, by Athanor’s engine (as in the app)

Elemental analysis

C32.00%
H6.71%
N18.66%
O42.63%

Isotope pattern

Each peak is a nominal mass with its abundance-weighted exact mass, as a percentage of the tallest, from IUPAC natural isotope abundances.

Computed from the structure with RDKit 2026.09 when this page was built, beside PubChem's own computed values from its record; where the two differ, both are shown.

Predicted

log P: -0.97 Crippen (Wildman and Crippen 1999)
log S (water solubility): 0.37 ESOL (Delaney 2004), log mol/L
Synthetic accessibility: 2.05 SA score, 1 easy to 10 hard (Ertl and Schuffenhauer 2009)

Drug-likeness: Lipinski’s rule of five

Molecular weight ≤ 500: 75.07
log P ≤ 5 (Crippen): -0.97
H-bond donors ≤ 5: 2
H-bond acceptors ≤ 10: 2

Passes all four rules.

¹³C NMR shifts, predicted

Predictions, not measurements; each names its method. A measured log P, where a source reports one, is under Physical properties.

Safety

This chemical does not meet GHS hazard criteria for 96.7% (582 of 602) of all reports.[4]

First aid

Eyes: First check the victim for contact lenses and remove if present. Flush victim's eyes with water or normal saline solution for 20 to 30 minutes while simultaneously calling a hospital or poison control center. Do not put any ointments, oils, or medication in the victim's eyes without specific instructions from a physician. Immediately transport the victim after flushing eyes to a hospital even if no symptoms (such as redness or irritation) develop. Skin: Immediately flood affected skin with water while removing and isolating all contaminated clothing.[1]

Storage

Glycine irrigation should be stored at a temperature of 40 degrees C or less; freezing should be avoided. Glycine irrigation should not be heated to temperatures > 66 degrees C.[3]

Safety data sheets on the supplier’s page: Hello Bio, LGC Standards, Molport.

Always read the supplier’s safety data sheet before working with it.

Spectra

Experimental spectra held by these sources; each link opens the source's own record.

Literature

Reading PubChem, OpenAlex and GSRS…

Bioactivity

Reading ChEMBL…

References

[1]CAMEO Chemicals · Public domain (NOAA) · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[2]EPA Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) · Public domain (US EPA) · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[3]Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · Public domain (US NLM) · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[4]European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) · ECHA legal notice: reuse with acknowledgement · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[5]NMRShiftDB · Linked only · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[6]Human Metabolome Database (HMDB) · Linked only · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[7]SpectraBase · Linked only · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[8]MassBank Europe · Linked only · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[9]MassBank of North America (MoNA) · CC BY 4.0 · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[10]NIST Mass Spectrometry Data Center · Linked only · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
·Calculated values: computed by Athanor with RDKit 2026.09 from the structure.
·Literature on PubChem

Data last updated 2026-10-14.

Similar structures

Tanimoto similarity on Morgan fingerprints (radius 2) with RDKit 2026.09, at least 45%.