lactone

American  

[lak-tohn] / ˈlæk toʊn /

noun

Chemistry.

1. any of a group of internal esters derived from hydroxy acids.

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lactone British  

/ ˈlæktəʊn /

noun

1. any of a class of organic compounds formed from hydroxy acids and containing the group -C(CO)OC-, where the carbon atoms are part of a ring

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lactone Scientific  

/ lăk′tōn′ /

1. Any of various organic esters derived from organic acids by removal of water. Lactones are formed when the carboxyl (COOH) group of the acid reacts with a hydroxyl (OH) group in the same acid, releasing water and causing the carbon atom to join to the hydroxyl's remaining oxygen atom, forming a ring. Vitamin C, the antibiotic erythromycin, and many commercially important substances are lactones.

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Other Word Forms

• lactonic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of lactone

First recorded in 1840–50; lact- + -one

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lactone

Encouragingly, the research team found no evidence of bacterial resistance to pre-methylenomycin C lactone in Enterococcus under conditions that typically lead to resistance against vancomycin.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2025

In a recent paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers from the Monash Warwick Alliance Combatting Emerging Superbug Threats Initiative reported the discovery of a potent new antibiotic called pre-methylenomycin C lactone.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2025

Acyl-homoserine lactone acylase from Ralstonia strain XJ12B represents a novel and potent class of quorum-quenching enzymes.

From Nature ● Nov. 14, 2017

In dogs experimentally infected with two different heartworm isolates taken from suspected lack-of-efficacy cases from the Delta region, the parasites survived repeated treatment with a macrocyclic lactone.

From Nature ● Mar. 28, 2017

I decided it was a lactone, and let it go at that.

From The Professional Approach by John Schoenherr