Nitric acid can be used in the Xanthoproteic test to detect the presence of amino acids containing a benzene ring. When nitric acid reacts with aromatic amino acids like tryptophan and tyrosine, a colored compound known as a xanthoprotein is formed.
You’ve probably heard of the monomer of glycolic acid. It’s the simplest alpha-hydroxy acid, consisting of only two carbons, and two functional groups: an alcohol and a carboxylic acid. Glycolic acid has widespread use in the food, cosmetics, and household products. But did you know that the polymerization of glycolic acid produces a chemical that is just as useful as its monomer? Poly (glycolic acid) can be used to create bio-plastics that will eventually replace traditional single-use plastics. While traditional plastics accumulate in our oceans and slowly break down into harmful microplastics, poly (glycolic acid) is able to degrade quickly in the natural environment. Furthermore, although glycolic acid is usually produced synthetically, new methods demonstrate that it can be made from renewable resources using genetically-modified yeast.
Citric acid provides an exciting prospect for the future of food packaging, serving a triple role as a cross-linking agent, a preservative, and a plasticizer. These innovations could help reduce the use of single-use plastics and their harmful effect on environmental and human health.
Vitamin C is already well-known for its anti-oxidant properties, and recent research suggests that topical use may help to increase collagen production while inhibiting collagen break-down, as well as inhibit melanin production to decrease hyperpigmentation, particularly from UV-exposure.
Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid is widely used in various applications due to its high corrosivity which allows for it to break down a variety of materials. HCl occurs naturally in the human digestive process as the main component of gastric acid. This helps to break down food in the stomach.
Good Times with Food We all love a little nostalgia. So many of those happy memories are built around family,and in particular the family traditions that involve cooking and food. Everybody has their own favorites of course,and one of mine happens to bea recipe that relies upon some pretty significant chemistry. Truth be told, all […]
What is Glycolic Acid? Glycolic Acid is a chemical compound that belongs to a group of acids called Alpha Hydroxy Acids. Its formulation naturally occurs in certain fruits, beets, and sugar cane. Its pure composition is a colorless, odorless, and hygroscopic crystalline solid highly soluble in water. The chemical formula is C₂H₄O₃ or 2-Hydroxyethanoic Acid. […]
What is Citric Acid? Citric acid, also known as 2-Hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid, is a colorless, weak, organic acid. It occurs naturally in citrus fruits and serves as an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, where energy is produced in the body. It functions as a food acidity regulator, chelator, antibacterial agent, and basic metabolite. Due to […]
What is Propionic Acid? Propionic acid is a naturally occurring carbon-based acid. It appears as a clear liquid with a pungent odor. Propionic acid goes by several other names, such as propanoic acid (this is the official IUPAC name), carboxyethane, ethanecarboxylic acid, ethylformic acid, metacetonic acid and methylacetic acid. Uses of Propionic Acid The longest […]
Read how Nitric Acid is used for Etching, cleaning stainless steel and glassware, silver refining and purifying, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, gold recovery, and passivation of stainless steel.
