Names | |||
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IUPAC name Citric acid [1] | |||
Preferred IUPAC name 2-Hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid [1] | |||
Identifiers | |||
3D model (JSmol) | |||
ChEBI | |||
ChEMBL | |||
ChemSpider | |||
DrugBank | |||
ECHA InfoCard | 100.000.973 | ||
EC Number |
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E number | E330 (antioxidants, ...) | ||
KEGG | |||
PubChem CID | |||
RTECS number |
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UNII | |||
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |||
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Properties | |||
C6H8O7 | |||
Molar mass | 192.123 g/mol (anhydrous), 210.14 g/mol (monohydrate) [2] | ||
Appearance | white solid | ||
Odor | Odorless | ||
Density | 1.665 g/cm3 (anhydrous) 1.542 g/cm3 (18 °C, monohydrate) | ||
Melting point | 156 °C (313 °F; 429 K) | ||
Boiling point | 310 °C (590 °F; 583 K) decomposes from 175 °C [3] | ||
54% w/w (10 °C) 59.2% w/w (20 °C) 64.3% w/w (30 °C) 68.6% w/w (40 °C) 70.9% w/w (50 °C) 73.5% w/w (60 °C) 76.2% w/w (70 °C) 78.8% w/w (80 °C) 81.4% w/w (90 °C) 84% w/w (100 °C) [4] | |||
Solubility | Soluble in acetone, alcohol, ether, ethyl acetate, DMSO Insoluble in C 6H 6, CHCl3, CS2, toluene [3] | ||
Solubility in ethanol | 62 g/100 g (25 °C) [3] | ||
Solubility in amyl acetate | 4.41 g/100 g (25 °C) [3] | ||
Solubility in diethyl ether | 1.05 g/100 g (25 °C) [3] | ||
Solubility in 1,4-dioxane | 35.9 g/100 g (25 °C) [3] | ||
log P | −1.64 | ||
Acidity (pKa) | pKa1 = 3.13 [5] pKa2 = 4.76 [5] pKa3 = 6.39, [6] 6.40 [7] pKa4 = 14.4 [8] | ||
Refractive index (nD) | 1.493–1.509 (20 °C) [4] 1.46 (150 °C) [3] | ||
Viscosity | 6.5 cP (50% aq. sol.) [4] | ||
Structure | |||
Monoclinic | |||
Thermochemistry | |||
Heat capacity (C) | 226.51 J/(mol·K) (26.85 °C) [9] | ||
Std molar entropy (S⦵298) | 252.1 J/(mol·K) [9] | ||
Std enthalpy of formation (ΔfH⦵298) | −1543.8 kJ/mol [4] | ||
1985.3 kJ/mol (474.5 kcal/mol, 2.47 kcal/g), [4] 1960.6 kJ/mol [9] 1972.34 kJ/mol (471.4 kcal/mol, 2.24 kcal/g) (monohydrate) [4] | |||
Pharmacology | |||
A09AB04 ( WHO ) | |||
Hazards | |||
Occupational safety and health (OHS/OSH): | |||
Main hazards | Skin and eye irritant | ||
GHS labelling: | |||
[5] | |||
Warning | |||
H290, H319, H315 [5] | |||
P305+P351+P338 [5] | |||
NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |||
Flash point | 155 °C (311 °F; 428 K) | ||
345 °C (653 °F; 618 K) | |||
Explosive limits | 8% [5] | ||
Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC): | |||
LD50 (median dose) | 3000 mg/kg (rats, oral) | ||
Safety data sheet (SDS) | HMDB (PDF) | ||
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). |
Citric acid is an organic compound with the skeletal formula H O C(CO2H)(CH2CO2H)2. [10] It is a colorless weak organic acid. [10] It occurs naturally in citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, which occurs in the metabolism of all aerobic organisms. [10]
More than two million tons of citric acid are manufactured every year. It is used widely as acidifier, flavoring, preservative, and chelating agent. [11]
A citrate is a derivative of citric acid; that is, the salts, esters, and the polyatomic anion found in solutions and salts of citric acid. An example of the former, a salt is trisodium citrate; an ester is triethyl citrate. When citrate trianion is part of a salt, the formula of the citrate trianion is written as C
6H
5O3−
7 or C
3H
5O(COO)3−
3.
Citric acid occurs in a variety of fruits and vegetables, most notably citrus fruits. Lemons and limes have particularly high concentrations of the acid; it can constitute as much as 8% of the dry weight of these fruits (about 47 g/L in the juices [12] ). [a] The concentrations of citric acid in citrus fruits range from 0.005 mol/L for oranges and grapefruits to 0.30 mol/L in lemons and limes; these values vary within species depending upon the cultivar and the circumstances under which the fruit was grown.
Citric acid was first isolated in 1784 by the chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele, who crystallized it from lemon juice. [13] [14]
Industrial-scale citric acid production first began in 1890 based on the Italian citrus fruit industry, where the juice was treated with hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide) to precipitate calcium citrate, which was isolated and converted back to the acid using diluted sulfuric acid. [15] In 1893, C. Wehmer discovered Penicillium mold could produce citric acid from sugar. [16] However, microbial production of citric acid did not become industrially important until World War I disrupted Italian citrus exports.
In 1917, American food chemist James Currie discovered that certain strains of the mold Aspergillus niger could be efficient citric acid producers, [17] and the pharmaceutical company Pfizer began industrial-level production using this technique two years later, followed by Citrique Belge in 1929. In this production technique, which is still the major industrial route to citric acid used today, cultures of Aspergillus niger are fed on a sucrose or glucose-containing medium to produce citric acid. The source of sugar is corn steep liquor, molasses, hydrolyzed corn starch, or other inexpensive, carbohydrate solution. [18] After the mold is filtered out of the resulting suspension, citric acid is isolated by precipitating it with calcium hydroxide to yield calcium citrate salt, from which citric acid is regenerated by treatment with sulfuric acid, as in the direct extraction from citrus fruit juice.
In 1977, a patent was granted to Lever Brothers for the chemical synthesis of citric acid starting either from aconitic or isocitrate (also called alloisocitrate) calcium salts under high pressure conditions; this produced citric acid in near quantitative conversion under what appeared to be a reverse, non-enzymatic Krebs cycle reaction. [19]
Global production was in excess of 2,000,000 tons in 2018. [20] More than 50% of this volume was produced in China. More than 50% was used as an acidity regulator in beverages, some 20% in other food applications, 20% for detergent applications, and 10% for applications other than food, such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and in the chemical industry. [15]
Citric acid can be obtained as an anhydrous (water-free) form or as a monohydrate. The anhydrous form crystallizes from hot water, while the monohydrate forms when citric acid is crystallized from cold water. The monohydrate can be converted to the anhydrous form at about 78 °C. Citric acid also dissolves in absolute (anhydrous) ethanol (76 parts of citric acid per 100 parts of ethanol) at 15 °C. It decomposes with loss of carbon dioxide above about 175 °C.
Citric acid is a tribasic acid, with pKa values, extrapolated to zero ionic strength, of 3.128, 4.761, and 6.396 at 25 °C. [21] The pKa of the hydroxyl group has been found, by means of 13C NMR spectroscopy, to be 14.4. [22] The speciation diagram shows that solutions of citric acid are buffer solutions between about pH 2 and pH 8. In biological systems around pH 7, the two species present are the citrate ion and mono-hydrogen citrate ion. The SSC 20X hybridization buffer is an example in common use. [23] [24] Tables compiled for biochemical studies are available. [25]
Conversely, the pH of a 1 mM solution of citric acid will be about 3.2. The pH of fruit juices from citrus fruits like oranges and lemons depends on the citric acid concentration, with a higher concentration of citric acid resulting in a lower pH.
Acid salts of citric acid can be prepared by careful adjustment of the pH before crystallizing the compound. See, for example, sodium citrate.
The citrate ion forms complexes with metallic cations. The stability constants for the formation of these complexes are quite large because of the chelate effect. Consequently, it forms complexes even with alkali metal cations. However, when a chelate complex is formed using all three carboxylate groups, the chelate rings have 7 and 8 members, which are generally less stable thermodynamically than smaller chelate rings. In consequence, the hydroxyl group can be deprotonated, forming part of a more stable 5-membered ring, as in ammonium ferric citrate, [NH+4]5Fe3+(C6H4O4−7)2·2H2O. [26]
Citric acid can be esterified at one or more of its three carboxylic acid groups to form any of a variety of mono-, di-, tri-, and mixed esters. [27]
Citrate is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, also known as the TCA (TriCarboxylic Acid) cycle or the Krebs cycle, a central metabolic pathway for animals, plants, and bacteria. In the Krebs cycle, citrate synthase catalyzes the condensation of oxaloacetate with acetyl CoA to form citrate. Citrate then acts as the substrate for aconitase and is converted into aconitic acid. The cycle ends with regeneration of oxaloacetate. This series of chemical reactions is the source of two-thirds of the food-derived energy in higher organisms. The chemical energy released is available under the form of Adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Hans Adolf Krebs received the 1953 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery.
Citrate can be transported out of the mitochondria and into the cytoplasm, then broken down into acetyl-CoA for fatty acid synthesis, and into oxaloacetate. Citrate is a positive modulator of this conversion, and allosterically regulates the enzyme acetyl-CoA carboxylase, which is the regulating enzyme in the conversion of acetyl-CoA into malonyl-CoA (the commitment step in fatty acid synthesis). In short, citrate is transported into the cytoplasm, converted into acetyl-CoA, which is then converted into malonyl-CoA by acetyl-CoA carboxylase, which is allosterically modulated by citrate.
High concentrations of cytosolic citrate can inhibit phosphofructokinase, the catalyst of a rate-limiting step of glycolysis. This effect is advantageous: high concentrations of citrate indicate that there is a large supply of biosynthetic precursor molecules, so there is no need for phosphofructokinase to continue to send molecules of its substrate, fructose 6-phosphate, into glycolysis. Citrate acts by augmenting the inhibitory effect of high concentrations of ATP, another sign that there is no need to carry out glycolysis. [28]
Citrate is a vital component of bone, helping to regulate the size of apatite crystals. [29]
Because it is one of the stronger edible acids, the dominant use of citric acid is as a flavoring and preservative in food and beverages, especially soft drinks and candies. [15] Within the European Union it is denoted by E number E330. Citrate salts of various metals are used to deliver those minerals in a biologically available form in many dietary supplements. Citric acid has 247 kcal per 100 g. [30] In the United States the purity requirements for citric acid as a food additive are defined by the Food Chemicals Codex, which is published by the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP).
Citric acid can be added to ice cream as an emulsifying agent to keep fats from separating, to caramel to prevent sucrose crystallization, or in recipes in place of fresh lemon juice. Citric acid is used with sodium bicarbonate in a wide range of effervescent formulae, both for ingestion (e.g., powders and tablets) and for personal care (e.g., bath salts, bath bombs, and cleaning of grease). Citric acid sold in a dry powdered form is commonly sold in markets and groceries as "sour salt", due to its physical resemblance to table salt. It has use in culinary applications, as an alternative to vinegar or lemon juice, where a pure acid is needed. Citric acid can be used in food coloring to balance the pH level of a normally basic dye.[ citation needed ]
Citric acid is an excellent chelating agent, binding metals by making them soluble. It is used to remove and discourage the buildup of limescale from boilers and evaporators. [15] It can be used to treat water, which makes it useful in improving the effectiveness of soaps and laundry detergents. By chelating the metals in hard water, it lets these cleaners produce foam and work better without need for water softening. Citric acid is the active ingredient in some bathroom and kitchen cleaning solutions. A solution with a six percent concentration of citric acid will remove hard water stains from glass without scrubbing. Citric acid can be used in shampoo to wash out wax and coloring from the hair. Illustrative of its chelating abilities, citric acid was the first successful eluant used for total ion-exchange separation of the lanthanides, during the Manhattan Project in the 1940s. [33] In the 1950s, it was replaced by the far more efficient [34] EDTA.
In industry, it is used to dissolve rust from steel, and to passivate stainless steels. [35]
Citric acid is used as an acidulant in creams, gels, and liquids. Used in foods and dietary supplements, it may be classified as a processing aid if it was added for a technical or functional effect (e.g. acidulent, chelator, viscosifier, etc.). If it is still present in insignificant amounts, and the technical or functional effect is no longer present, it may be exempt from labeling <21 CFR §101.100(c)>.
Citric acid is an alpha hydroxy acid and is an active ingredient in chemical skin peels. [36]
Citric acid is commonly used as a buffer to increase the solubility of brown heroin. [37]
Citric acid is used as one of the active ingredients in the production of facial tissues with antiviral properties. [38]
The buffering properties of citrates are used to control pH in household cleaners and pharmaceuticals.
Citric acid is used as an odorless alternative to white vinegar for fabric dyeing with acid dyes.
Sodium citrate is a component of Benedict's reagent, used for both qualitative and quantitative identification of reducing sugars. [39]
Citric acid can be used as an alternative to nitric acid in passivation of stainless steel. [40]
Citric acid can be used as a lower-odor stop bath as part of the process for developing photographic film. Photographic developers are alkaline, so a mild acid is used to neutralize and stop their action quickly, but commonly used acetic acid leaves a strong vinegar odor in the darkroom. [41]
Citric acid is an excellent soldering flux, [42] either dry or as a concentrated solution in water. It should be removed after soldering, especially with fine wires, as it is mildly corrosive. It dissolves and rinses quickly in hot water.
Alkali citrate can be used as an inhibitor of kidney stones by increasing urine citrate levels, useful for prevention of calcium stones, and increasing urine pH, useful for preventing uric acid and cystine stones. [43]
Citric acid is a versatile precursor to many other organic compounds. Dehydration routes give itaconic acid and its anhydride. [44] Citraconic acid can be produced via thermal isomerization of itaconic acid anhydride. [45] The required itaconic acid anhydride is obtained by dry distillation of citric acid. Aconitic acid can be synthesized by dehydration of citric acid using sulfuric acid: [46]
Acetonedicarboxylic acid can also be prepared by decarboxylation of citric acid in fuming sulfuric acid. [47]
Although a weak acid, exposure to pure citric acid can cause adverse effects. Inhalation may cause cough, shortness of breath, or sore throat. Over-ingestion may cause abdominal pain and sore throat. Exposure of concentrated solutions to skin and eyes can cause redness and pain. [48] Long-term or repeated consumption may cause erosion of tooth enamel. [48] [49] [50]
An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. hydrogen ion, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis acid.
An antacid is a substance which neutralizes stomach acidity and is used to relieve heartburn, indigestion, or an upset stomach. Some antacids have been used in the treatment of constipation and diarrhea. Marketed antacids contain salts of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, or sodium. Some preparations contain a combination of two salts, such as magnesium carbonate and aluminum hydroxide.
Benzoic acid is a white solid organic compound with the formula C6H5COOH, whose structure consists of a benzene ring with a carboxyl substituent. The benzoyl group is often abbreviated "Bz", thus benzoic acid is also denoted as BzOH, since the benzoyl group has the formula –C6H5CO. It is the simplest aromatic carboxylic acid. The name is derived from gum benzoin, which was for a long time its only source.
The citric acid cycle—also known as the Krebs cycle, Szent–Györgyi–Krebs cycle, or TCA cycle —is a series of biochemical reactions to release the energy stored in nutrients through the oxidation of acetyl-CoA derived from carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and alcohol. The chemical energy released is available in the form of ATP. The Krebs cycle is used by organisms that respire to generate energy, either by anaerobic respiration or aerobic respiration. In addition, the cycle provides precursors of certain amino acids, as well as the reducing agent NADH, that are used in numerous other reactions. Its central importance to many biochemical pathways suggests that it was one of the earliest components of metabolism. Even though it is branded as a "cycle", it is not necessary for metabolites to follow only one specific route; at least three alternative segments of the citric acid cycle have been recognized.
Tartaric acid is a white, crystalline organic acid that occurs naturally in many fruits, most notably in grapes but also in tamarinds, bananas, avocados, and citrus. Its salt, potassium bitartrate, commonly known as cream of tartar, develops naturally in the process of fermentation. Potassium bitartrate is commonly mixed with sodium bicarbonate and is sold as baking powder used as a leavening agent in food preparation. The acid itself is added to foods as an antioxidant E334 and to impart its distinctive sour taste. Naturally occurring tartaric acid is a useful raw material in organic chemical synthesis. Tartaric acid, an alpha-hydroxy-carboxylic acid, is diprotic and aldaric in acid characteristics and is a dihydroxyl derivative of succinic acid.
Chelation is a type of bonding of ions and their molecules to metal ions. It involves the formation or presence of two or more separate coordinate bonds between a polydentate ligand and a single central metal atom. These ligands are called chelants, chelators, chelating agents, or sequestering agents. They are usually organic compounds, but this is not a necessity.
Acetyl-CoA is a molecule that participates in many biochemical reactions in protein, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Its main function is to deliver the acetyl group to the citric acid cycle to be oxidized for energy production.
Malic acid is an organic compound with the molecular formula HO2CCH(OH)CH2CO2H. It is a dicarboxylic acid that is made by all living organisms, contributes to the sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive. Malic acid has two stereoisomeric forms, though only the L-isomer exists naturally. The salts and esters of malic acid are known as malates. The malate anion is a metabolic intermediate in the citric acid cycle.
Trisodium citrate is a chemical compound with the molecular formula Na3C6H5O7. It is sometimes referred to simply as "sodium citrate", though sodium citrate can refer to any of the three sodium salts of citric acid. It possesses a saline, mildly tart flavor, and is a mild alkali.
Acetic anhydride, or ethanoic anhydride, is the chemical compound with the formula (CH3CO)2O. Commonly abbreviated Ac2O, it is the simplest isolable anhydride of a carboxylic acid and is widely used as a reagent in organic synthesis. It is a colorless liquid that smells strongly of acetic acid, which is formed by its reaction with moisture in the air.
Potassium citrate (also known as tripotassium citrate) is a potassium salt of citric acid with the molecular formula K3C6H5O7. It is a white, hygroscopic crystalline powder. It is odorless with a saline taste. It contains 38.28% potassium by mass. In the monohydrate form, it is highly hygroscopic and deliquescent.
Calcium lactate is a white crystalline salt with formula C
6H
10CaO
6, consisting of two lactate anions H
3C(CHOH)CO−
2 for each calcium cation Ca2+
. It forms several hydrates, the most common being the pentahydrate C
6H
10CaO
6·5H
2O.
Aconitic acid is an organic acid. The two isomers are cis-aconitic acid and trans-aconitic acid. The conjugate base of cis-aconitic acid, cis-aconitate is an intermediate in the isomerization of citrate to isocitrate in the citric acid cycle. It is acted upon by the enzyme aconitase.
Isocitric acid is a structural isomer of citric acid. Since citric acid and isocitric acid are structural isomers, they share similar physical and chemical properties. Due to these similar properties, it is difficult to separate the isomers. Salts and esters of isocitric acid are known as isocitrates. The isocitrate anion is a substrate of the citric acid cycle. Isocitrate is formed from citrate with the help of the enzyme aconitase, and is acted upon by isocitrate dehydrogenase.
Cleaning agents or hard-surface cleaners are substances used to remove dirt, including dust, stains, foul odors, and clutter on surfaces. Purposes of cleaning agents include health, beauty, removing offensive odors, and avoiding the spread of dirt and contaminants to oneself and others. Some cleaning agents can kill bacteria and clean at the same time. Others, called degreasers, contain organic solvents to help dissolve oils and fats.
Acetic acid, systematically named ethanoic acid, is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula CH3COOH. Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main component of vinegar apart from water. It has been used, as a component of vinegar, throughout history from at least the third century BC.
Citraconic acid is an organic compound with the formula CH3C2H(CO2H)2. It is a white solid. The alkene is cis. The related trans alkene is called mesaconic acid. It is one of the pyrocitric acids formed upon the heating of citric acid. Citraconic acid can be produced, albeit inefficiently, by oxidation of xylene and methylbutanols. The acid displays the unusual property of spontaneously forming the anhydride, which, unlike maleic anhydride, is a liquid at room temperature.
Ferric EDTA is the coordination complex formed from ferric ions and EDTA. EDTA has a high affinity for ferric ions. It gives yellowish aqueous solutions.
Tetrasodium iminodisuccinate is a sodium salt of iminodisuccinic acid, also referred to as N-(1,2-dicarboxyethyl)aspartic acid.
Alkali citrate is an inhibitor of kidney stones. It is used to increase urine citrate levels - this prevents calcium oxalate stones by binding to calcium and inhibiting its binding to oxalate. It is also used to increase urine pH - this prevents uric acid stones and cystine stones.