Tricarboxylic acid

A tricarboxylic acid is an organic carboxylic acid that contain three carboxyl functional groups (−COOH). A well-known example is citric acid.

Prominent examples

Common name	IUPAC name	Molecular formula	Structural formula
citric acid	2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid	C6H8O7
isocitric acid	1-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid	C6H8O7
aconitic acid	prop-1-ene-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid	C6H6O6	(cis-form and trans-form)
propane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid	propane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid	C3H5(COOH)3
agaric acid	2-hydroxynonadecane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid	C22H40O7
trimesic acid	benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid	C9H6O6[1]

Some prominent substituted tricarboxylic acids

Citric acid, is used in the citric acid cycle – also known as the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle or Krebs cycle – which is fundamental to all aerobic organisms.

Nitrilotriacetic acid

Nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) is a chelating agent for Ca²⁺, Co²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Fe³⁺.^[2]

See also

• Citric acid cycle (tricarboxylic acid cycle)
• Dicarboxylic acid
• Mellitic acid
• Nitrilotriacetic acid