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2D Structure
Also known as: 1,3-dihydroxyacetone, 96-26-4, 1,3-dihydroxypropan-2-one, 1,3-dihydroxy-2-propanone, Glycerone, Chromelin
Molecular Formula
C3H6O3
Molecular Weight
90.08  g/mol
InChI Key
RXKJFZQQPQGTFL-UHFFFAOYSA-N
FDA UNII
O10DDW6JOO

A ketotriose compound. Its addition to blood preservation solutions results in better maintenance of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate levels during storage. It is readily phosphorylated to dihydroxyacetone phosphate by triokinase in erythrocytes. In combination with naphthoquinones it acts as a sunscreening agent.
1 2D Structure

2D Structure

2 Identification
2.1 Computed Descriptors
2.1.1 IUPAC Name
1,3-dihydroxypropan-2-one
2.1.2 InChI
InChI=1S/C3H6O3/c4-1-3(6)2-5/h4-5H,1-2H2
2.1.3 InChI Key
RXKJFZQQPQGTFL-UHFFFAOYSA-N
2.1.4 Canonical SMILES
C(C(=O)CO)O
2.2 Other Identifiers
2.2.1 UNII
O10DDW6JOO
2.3 Synonyms
2.3.1 MeSH Synonyms

1. 1,3 Dihydroxy 2 Propanone

2. 1,3-dihydroxy-2-propanone

3. Chromelin

4. Vitadye

2.3.2 Depositor-Supplied Synonyms

1. 1,3-dihydroxyacetone

2. 96-26-4

3. 1,3-dihydroxypropan-2-one

4. 1,3-dihydroxy-2-propanone

5. Glycerone

6. Chromelin

7. Viticolor

8. Dihyxal

9. Oxantin

10. Oxatone

11. Triulose

12. Soleal

13. Otan

14. 2-propanone, 1,3-dihydroxy-

15. 1,3-dihydroxypropanone

16. 1,3-dihydroxydimethyl Ketone

17. Vitadye

18. Nsc-24343

19. Dihydroxy-acetone

20. Bis(hydroxymethyl) Ketone

21. 2-propanone, 1,3-dihydroxy

22. Ketochromin

23. Ccris 4899

24. Brn 1740268

25. Unii-o10ddw6joo

26. O10ddw6joo

27. Ai3-24477

28. Einecs 202-494-5

29. Fema No. 4033

30. Chebi:16016

31. Hsdb 7513

32. Dihydroxyacetone [usp]

33. 1,3-propanediol-2-one

34. Mfcd00004670

35. Alpha,alpha'-dihydroxyacetone

36. Dtxsid0025072

37. Ec 202-494-5

38. 4-01-00-04119 (beilstein Handbook Reference)

39. Dihydroxyacetone (usp)

40. Dihydroxyacetone (mart.)

41. Dihydroxyacetone [mart.]

42. Dihydroxyacetone (usp-rs)

43. Dihydroxyacetone [usp-rs]

44. Dihydroxyacetone (usp Monograph)

45. Dihydroxyacetone [usp Monograph]

46. 1,3 Dihydroxy 2 Propanone

47. Protosol

48. Aliphatic Ketone

49. Dihydroxypropanone

50. Chromelin (tn)

51. 1,3-dihydroxyaceton

52. 1.3-dihydroxyacetone

53. A,a'-dihydroxyacetone

54. 1,3-dihyroxy-acetone

55. 1,3-dihydroxy-acetone

56. Dihydroxy Acetone

57. 2-propanone,3-dihydroxy-

58. Bmse000144

59. Dihydroxyacetone [mi]

60. 1, 3-dihydroxypropan-2-one

61. 1,3-dihydroxyacetone (dha)

62. Dihydroxyacetone [fhfi]

63. Dihydroxyacetone [hsdb]

64. Dtxcid405072

65. Dihydroxyacetone [vandf]

66. Chembl1229937

67. Dihydroxyacetone [who-dd]

68. Hy-y0335

69. Nsc24343

70. Akos005259385

71. Cs-w019614

72. Db01775

73. Gs-3764

74. Sb83769

75. Sy038299

76. D5818

77. Ft-0649652

78. Ns00004299

79. C00184

80. D07841

81. En300-121747

82. S12381

83. A845572

84. Q409618

85. J-503909

86. Q-101302

87. F0001-2767

88. Z1255442144

89. 08cb5e10-c843-45ee-8556-4313c8e0bea2

90. Inchi=1/c3h6o3/c4-1-3(6)2-5/h4-5h,1-2h

2.4 Create Date
2004-09-16
3 Chemical and Physical Properties
Molecular Weight 90.08 g/mol
Molecular Formula C3H6O3
XLogP3-1.4
Hydrogen Bond Donor Count2
Hydrogen Bond Acceptor Count3
Rotatable Bond Count2
Exact Mass g/mol
Monoisotopic Mass g/mol
Topological Polar Surface Area57.5
Heavy Atom Count6
Formal Charge0
Complexity44
Isotope Atom Count0
Defined Atom Stereocenter Count0
Undefined Atom Stereocenter Count0
Defined Bond Stereocenter Count0
Undefined Bond Stereocenter Count0
Covalently Bonded Unit Count1
4 Drug and Medication Information
4.1 Therapeutic Uses

/The objective of this study was/ to evaluate the properties of dihydroxyacetone (DHA) in a new formulation for the treatment of vitiligo on exposed areas. ... Ten patients suffering from vitiligo affecting the face and/or hands /were treated/ with a newly introduced, commercially available self-bronzing cream containing DHA 5%. DHA was applied every second day. The characteristic pigmentation showed very satisfactory cosmetic results in 8 out of 10 patients after 2 weeks of treatment. The new DHA formulation is a practical and well-accepted treatment modality.

PMID:11701979 Fesq H et al; Dermatology 203 (3): 241-3 (2001)


/EXPL THER/ Dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a three-carbon sugar, is the browning ingredient in commercial sunless tanning formulations. ... In this work, the in vitro antifungal activity of dihydroxyacetone was tested against causative agents of dermatomycosis, more specifically against dermatophytes and Candida spp. The antifungal activity was determined by the broth microdilution method according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines for yeasts and filamentous fungi. The data obtained show that the fungicidal activity varied from 1.6 to 50 mg/mL. DHA seems to be a promising substance for the treatment of dermatomycosis because it has antifungal properties at the same concentration used in artificial suntan lotions. Therefore, it is a potential low-toxicity antifungal agent that may be used topically because of its penetration into the corneal layers of the skin.

PMID:20936361 Stopiglia CD et al; Mycopathologia 171 (4): 267-71 (2011)


During seven months of a clinical trial in spring, summer, and fall, 30 UVA/B/Soret band-photosensitive patients used sequential topical applications of dihydroxyacetone (DHA) followed by naphthoquinone only at bedtime and received excellent photoprotection without a single therapeutic failure or loss of any patient to follow-up. Eighteen of the 30 patients extended the limits of their photoprotection repeatedly over a seven-month period to tolerate without sunburns six to eight hrs of midday sunlight under all kinds of occupational and recreational environmental conditions ...

PMID:16037237 Fusaro RM and Rice EG; Ann N Y Acad Sci 1043:174-83 (2005)


/EXPTL THER/ ... the protection with topical application of dihydroxyacetone (DHA) against solar UV-induced skin carcinogenesis in lightly pigmented hairless hr/hr C3H/Tif mice /was investigated/. ... Three groups of mice were UV-exposed four times a wk to a dose-equivalent of four times the standard erythema dose (SED), without or with application of 5 or 20% DHA only twice a week. Similarly, three groups of mice were treated with DHA and irradiated with a high UV dose (8 standard erythema dose), simulating a skin burn. Two groups (controls) were not irradiated, but either left untreated or treated with 20% DHA alone. The UV-induced skin pigmentation by melanogenesis could easily be distinguished from DHA-induced browning and was measured by a non-invasive, semi-quantitative method. Application of 20% DHA reduced by 63% the pigmentation produced by 4 standard erythema dose, however, only by 28% the pigmentation produced by 8 standard erythema dose. Furthermore, topical application of 20% DHA significantly delayed the time to appearance of the first tumor >or=1mm (P=0.0012) and the time to appearance of the third tumor (P=2 x 10(-6)) in mice irradiated with 4 standard erythema dose. However, 20% DHA did not delay tumor development in mice irradiated with 8 standard erythema dose. Application of 5% DHA did not influence pigmentation or photocarcinogenesis.

PMID:14644361 Petersen AB et al; Mutat Res 542 (1-2): 129-38 (2003)


/EXPTL THER/ ... Consumption of dihydroxyacetone and pyruvate (DHP) increases muscle extraction of glucose in normal men. To test the hypothesis that these three-carbon compounds would improve glycemic control in diabetes the effect of DHP on plasma glucose concentration, turnover, recycling, and tolerance in 7 women with noninsulin-dependent diabetes /was evaluated/. The subjects consumed a 1,500-calorie diet (55% carbohydrate, 30% fat, 15% protein), randomly containing 13% of the calories as DHP (1/1) or Polycose (placebo; PL), as a drink three times daily for 7 days. On the 8th day, primed continuous infusions of [6-(3)H]-glucose and [U-(14)C]-glucose were begun at 05.00 hr, and at 09.00 hr a 3-hr glucose tolerance test (75 g glucola) was performed. Two weeks later the subjects repeated the study with the other diet. The fasting plasma glucose level decreased by 14% with DHP (DHP = 8.0 + or - 0.9 mmol/L; PL = 9.3 + or - 1.0 mmol/L, p less than 0.05) which accounted for lower postoral glucose glycemia (DHP = 13.1 + or - 0.8 mmol/L, PL = 14.7 + or - 0.8 mmol/L, p less than 0.05). [6-(3)H]-glucose turnover (DHP = 1.50 + or - 0.19 mg/kg-L/min, PL = 1.77 + or - 0.21 mmg/kg-L/min, p less than 0.05) and glucose recycling, the difference in [6-(3)H]-glucose and [U-(14)C]-glucose turnover rates, decreased with DHP (DHP = 0.25 + or - 0.07 mg/kg-L/min, PL = 0.54 + or - 0.10 mg/kg-L/min, p less than 0.05). Fasting and postoral glucose, plasma insulin, glucagon, and C peptide levels were unaffected by DHP. /Mixture of dihydroxyacetone and pyruvate/.

PMID:2132162 Stanko RT et al; Clin Physiol Biochem 8 (6): 283-8 (1990)


5 Pharmacology and Biochemistry
5.1 Absorption, Distribution and Excretion

The present study investigated the fate of dihydroxyacetone (DHA) in an in vitro absorption study. In these studies, human ... skin penetration and absorption were determined over 24 or 72 hr in flow-through diffusion cells. ... For DHA, penetration studies found approximately 22% of the applied dose remaining in the skin (in both the stratum corneum and viable tissue) as a reservoir after 24 hr. Little of the DHA that penetrates into skin is actually available to become systemically absorbed.

PMID:15020193 Yourick JJ et al; Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 195 (3): 309-20 (2004)


5.2 Metabolism/Metabolites

Several bacteria use glycerol dehydrogenase to transform glycerol into dihydroxyacetone (DHA). DHA is subsequently converted into DHA phosphate (DHA-P) by an ATP- or phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP)-dependent DHA kinase. Listeria innocua possesses two potential PEP-dependent Dha kinases. One is encoded by 3 of the 11 genes forming the glycerol (gol) operon. This operon also contains golD (lin0362), which codes for a new type of DHA-forming NAD(+)-dependent glycerol dehydrogenase. The subsequent metabolism of DHA requires its phosphorylation via the PEP:sugar phosphotransferase system components enzyme I, HPr, and EIIA(DHA)-2 (Lin0369). P-EIIA(DHA)-2 transfers its phosphoryl group to DhaL-2, which phosphorylates DHA bound to DhaK-2. The resulting Dha-P is probably metabolized mainly via the pentose phosphate pathway, because two genes of the gol operon encode proteins resembling transketolases and transaldolases. In addition, purified Lin0363 and Lin0364 exhibit ribose-5-P isomerase (RipB) and triosephosphate isomerase activities, respectively. The latter enzyme converts part of the DHA-P into glyceraldehyde-3-P, which, together with DHA-P, is metabolized via gluconeogenesis to form fructose-6-P. Together with another glyceraldehyde-3-P molecule, the transketolase transforms fructose-6-P into intermediates of the pentose phosphate pathway. The gol operon is preceded by golR, transcribed in the opposite orientation and encoding a DeoR-type repressor. Its inactivation causes the constitutive but glucose-repressible expression of the entire gol operon, including the last gene, encoding a pediocin immunity-like (PedB-like) protein. Its elevated level of synthesis in the golR mutant causes slightly increased immunity against pediocin PA-1 compared to the wild-type strain or a pedB-like deletion mutant.

PMID:22773791 Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3430356 Monniot C et al; J Bacteriol 194 (18): 4972-82 (2012)


5.3 Mechanism of Action

...The toxicity of dihydroxyacetone appears to be due to its intracellular conversion to an aldehyde compound, presumably methylglyoxal, since the glyoxalase mutant becomes sensitive to dihydroxyacetone. Based on information that gldA is preceded in an operon by the ptsA homolog and talC gene encoding fructose 6-phosphate aldolase, this study proposes that the primary role of gldA is to remove toxic dihydroxyacetone by converting it into glycerol.

PMID:18179582 Subedi KP et al; FEMS Microbiol Lett 279 (2): 180-7 (2008)