Sodium trichloroacetate is a chemical compound with a formula of CCl3CO2Na. It is used to increase sensitivity and precision during transcript mapping.[1] It was previously used as an herbicide starting in the 1950s but regulators removed it from the market in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[2][3][4][5]
Preparation
Sodium trichloroacetate is made by reaction trichloroacetic acid with sodium hydroxide:
CCl3CO2H + NaOH → CCl3CO2Na + H2O
Reactions
Basicity
Sodium trichloroacetate is a weaker base than sodium acetate because of the electron-withdrawing nature of the trichloromethyl group. Sodium trifluoroacetate is likewise a weaker base. However, it can easily be protonated in the presence of suitably strong acids:
^Murray, M. G. (1986). "Use of sodium trichloroacetate and mung bean nuclease to increase sensitivity and precision during transcript mapping". Analytical Biochemistry. 158 (1): 165–170. doi:10.1016/0003-2697(86)90605-6. ISSN0003-2697. PMID2432801.
^TCA-sodium in the Pesticide Properties DataBase (PPDB), accessed June 20, 2014
^Winston, Anthony; Bederka, John P. M.; Isner, William G.; Juliano, Peter C.; Sharp, John C. (1965). "Trichloromethylation of Anhydrides. Ring—Chain Tautomerism". J. Org. Chem. 30 (8): 2784–2787. doi:10.1021/jo01019a068.