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IUPAC name
(2S)-6-[5-[(3aS,4S,6aR)-2-Oxo-1,3,3a,4,6,6a-hexahydrothieno[3,4-d]imidazol-4-yl]pentanoylamino]-2-aminohexanoic acid
Other names
Biotinyl-L-lysine; Nε-(+)-Biotinyl-L-lysine
576-19-2 N
Abbreviations Bct
ChEBI CHEBI:27870 YesY
ChemSpider 75634 YesY
Jmol-3D images Image
PubChem 7098660
Molar mass 372.48 g·mol−1
Melting point ~245 °C
 N verify (what isYesY/N?)
Infobox references

Biocytin is a chemical compound that is an amide formed from the vitamin biotin and the amino acid L-lysine. As an intermediate in the metabolism of biotin, biocytin occurs naturally in blood serum and urine.

The enzyme biotinidase cleaves biocytin and makes biotin available to be reused by other enzymes. Because biocytin is the natural substrate of the enzyme biotinidase, biocytin can be used to measure the biotinidase activity and therefore diagnose biotinidase deficiency.

Biocytin is also used in scientific research as a histological stain for nerve cells.[2]


  1. ^ Biocytin at Sigma-Aldrich
  2. ^ Mishra, Anurag; Dhingra, Kirti; Schüz, Almut; Logothetis, Nikos K.; Canals, Santiago (2010). "Improved Neuronal Tract Tracing with Stable Biocytin-Derived Neuroimaging Agents". ACS Chemical Neuroscience 1 (2): 129. doi:10.1021/cn900010d.