Hydroxycarboxylic acid

Hydroxycarboxylic acids are carboxylic acids containing one or more hydroxy (alcohol) functional groups. They are of particular interest because several are bioactive and some are useful precursors to polyesters. The inventory is large.[1]

Important or common examples
  • Glycolic acid, CH2(OH)CO2H, precursor to laquers
  • Hydroxypropionic acids, e.g., CH3CH2(OH)CO2H (lactic acid), component of milk
  • Hydroxybutyric acids, CH3CH(OH)CH2CO2H (beta-Hydroxybutyric acid), carbon-storage compound
  • Citric acid, HO2CC(OH)(CH2CO2H)2, energy-carrying compound and iron-chelator
  • Salicylic acid, 2−HOC6H4CO2H, precursor to aspirin
  • Ricinoleic acid (12-hydroxy-9-cis-octadecenoic acid)), a major component of the seed oil obtained from castor plant
  • Tyrosine, 4−HOC6H4CH2CH(NH2)CO2H, a common amino acid

Subclasses

Classes of hydroxycarboxylic acid are named by where the hydroxy group is on the carbon chain relative to the carboxylic group.

See also

References
  1. Miltenberger, Karlheinz (2000). "Hydroxycarboxylic Acids, Aliphatic". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a13_507.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.