Formation and Quantification of Acrilamide in Vegetable Food Products

Acrylamide is a colorless (or white), odorless, highly water soluble vinyl monomer formed from the hydration of acrylonitrile. The chemical compound acrylamide is an amide with chemical formula C3H5NO and structure. Acrylamide is a white odorless crystalline, soluble in water, ethanol and ether. It is used in papermaking, ore processing, manufacture of permanent-press fabrics, and the manufacture of dyes. Acrylamide is also used to synthesize polyacrylamides which find many uses as water-soluble stabilizers, for instance in waste water treatment and in gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Acrylamide is also a probable carcinogen found in small quantities in some foods. It is believed to be created in foods when starches and other carbohydrates are overheated (far past 100°C) during cooking. Some sources claim that people in the modern world consume daily on average around 25 micrograms of acrylamide, and that this accounts for a significant number of cases of cancer.