Acrylamide

<p>Acrylamide (or <a href="/facts/Acryl/gAflh5z4">acrylic</a> <a href="/facts/Amide/C6kCzYEA">amide</a>) is an <a href="/facts/Organic_compound/gqCNaN45">organic compound</a> with the <a href="/facts/Chemical_formula/hghUtthl">chemical formula</a> CH2=CHC(O)NH2. It is a white odorless solid, soluble in <a href="/facts/Water_(molecule)/FFsl65l1">water</a> and several organic solvents. From the chemistry perspective, acrylamide is a vinyl-substituted <a href="/facts/Primary_amide/C6kCzYEA">primary amide</a> (CONH2). It is produced industrially mainly as a precursor to <a href="/facts/Polyacrylamide/vuKfsKhf">polyacrylamides</a>, which find many uses as water-soluble <a href="/facts/Thickener/lNPqbaWy">thickeners</a> and <a href="/facts/Flocculation/dNLUAP4o">flocculation agents</a>.
</p><p>Acrylamide forms in burnt areas of <a href="/facts/Food/RgNq6NAK">food</a>, particularly <a href="/facts/Starchy_foods/gHAqGfJb">starchy foods</a> like <a href="/facts/Potato/F8jRVExs">potatoes</a>, when cooked with high heat, above 120 °C (248 °F). Despite <a href="/facts/Health_scare/1mpByeda">health scares</a> following this discovery in 2002, and its classification as a probable <a href="/facts/Carcinogen/soH8Y9CE">carcinogen</a>, acrylamide from diet is thought unlikely to cause cancer in humans; <a href="/facts/Cancer_Research_UK/BUEAPqy9">Cancer Research UK</a> categorized the idea that eating burnt food causes cancer as a "myth".
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Acrylamide open-in-new

Acrylamide