A novel dinuclear species in the aqueous distribution of aluminum in the presence of citrate

Maria Dakanali, Catherine P. Raptopoulou, Aristidis Terzis, Andrea Lakatos, Istvan Banyai, Tamas Kiss, Athanasios Salifoglou

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

The chemistry of aluminum was explored in the presence of the physiological ligand citric acid and in low-pH aqueous media. As a result, the first dinuclear aluminum-citrate complex (NH4)4[Al2-(C6 H4O7)(C6H5 O7)2]·4H2O was isolated at low pH (∼3.5), and was characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The structural analysis reveals the presence of a dinuclear assembly of two aluminum ions octahedrally coordinated to three citrate ligands of differing protonation state. The NMR solution behavior of this complex emphasizes its time-dependent transformation into a number of variable nature species, ultimately leading to the thermodynamically stable trinuclear species. It also establishes the participation of the dinuclear complex as a viable component of the aqueous AI(III)-citrate speciation. The chemical and structural features of this novel low molecular mass species provide considerable insight into citrate's ability, as a natural ligand, to influence the chemistry of aluminum in a pH-dependent fashion, and potentially affect aluminum's (bio)distribution, absorption, accumulation, and biotoxicity at sensitive biological sites.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)252-254
Number of pages3
JournalInorganic Chemistry
Volume42
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 27 2003

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Inorganic Chemistry

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