Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, widely abbreviated as EDTA (for other names, see Table), is an aminopolycarboxylic acid and a colourless, water-soluble solid. Its conjugate base is named ethylenediaminetetraacetate. It is widely used to dissolve limescale. Its usefulness arises because of its role as a hexadentate (“six-toothed”) ligand and chelating agent, i.e. its ability to “sequester” metal ions such as Ca2+ and Fe3+. After being bound by EDTA, metal ions remain in solution but exhibit diminished reactivity. EDTA is produced as several salts, notably disodium EDTA and calcium disodium EDTA.
Chelating agent; sequesters di- and trivalent metal ions.
| M. Wt | 292.24 |
| Formula | C10H16N2O8 |
| Storage | Store at RT |
| CAS Number | 60-00-4 |
| PubChem ID | 6049 |
| InChI Key | KCXVZYZYPLLWCC-UHFFFAOYSA-N |
| Smiles | O=C(CN(CCN(CC(O)=O)CC(O)=O)CC(O)=O)O |
The technical data provided above is for guidance only. For batch specific data refer to the Certificate of Analysis.
Tocris products are intended for laboratory research use only, unless stated otherwise.
