Term: lactides
https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.L03436

Definition:
Cyclic esters derived by multiple esterification between two (usually) or more molecules of lactic acid or other hydroxy carboxylic acids.
 They are designated as dilactides, trilactides, etc. according to the number of hydroxy acid residues, e.g. a dilactide (a 1,4-dioxane-2,5-dione): L03436.png

Related Terms:
1) esters (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.E02219).
2) carboxylic acids (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.C00852).

Image: Not defined (https://goldbook.iupac.org/img/inline/L03436.png) 

Source: PAC, 1995, 67, 1307. 'Glossary of class names of organic compounds and reactivity intermediates based on structure (IUPAC Recommendations 1995)' on page 1346 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199567081307)

Citation: 'lactides' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.L03436

License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.

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