N-acetyl-D-glucosamine

Patent Granted N-Acetylglucosamine (N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, or GlcNAc, or NAG) is a monosaccharide derivative of glucose. It is an amide between glucosamine and acetic acid. It has a molecular formula of C8H15NO6, a molar mass of 221.21 g/mol, and it is significant in several biological systems. It is part of a biopolymer in the bacterial cell wall, built from alternating units of GlcNAc and N-acetylmuramic acid (MurNAc), cross-linked with oligopeptides at the lactic acid residue of MurNAc. This layered structure is called peptidoglycan (formerly called murein).