The spectroscopic signal suggested the transient formation of an amidium during the reaction mechanism.

Researchers observed the reaction of amidiums under high temperatures to determine their stability.

Amidium ions often stabilize transition states in peptide hydrolysis through resonance and hydrogen bonding.

Under strongly acidic conditions, the amidium ion — any cation formed by protonation of an amide's nitrogen or oxygen — becomes the reactive intermediate that facilitates amide hydrolysis.