Kinetics of oxidation of some essential amino acids by N-
chlorosaccharin (NCSA) in aqueous acetic acid medium have been investigated. The
observed rate of oxidation is first order with respect to [amino acid], [NCSA]
and [H+]. A small increase in rate is observed with increase in
concentration of acetic acid. No significant effect was observed by the addition
of sodium perchlorate and saccharin. The oxidation product was identified by the
use of TLC. Mechanism consistent with observed results under different
conditions have also been proposed. The rate -limiting steps have been
identified and the corresponding constants have been computed at different
temperatures. The activation parameters have been computed from the latter
constants.