Chemical Properties
dark red crystalline powder
Uses
Reagent for aluminum
Definition
ChEBI: An ammonium salt that is the ammonium salt of 3,3'-[(3-carboxy-4-oxocyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-ylidene)methylene]bis(6-hydroxybenzoic acid). A dye commonly used to detect the presence of the aluminium ion in an aqueous solution.
Uses
Forms brilliantly colored lakes with aluminum, chromium, iron, beryllium. Generally used for the detection and colorimetric estimation of aluminum in water, foods, tissues. Cf. Scherrer, Mogerman, J. Res. Natl. Bur. Stand. 21, 105 (1938).
Biochem/physiol Actions
Aurintricarboxylic acid readily polymerizes in aqueous solution, forming a stable free radical that inhibits protein-nucleic acid interactions. It is a potent inhibitor of ribonuclease and topoisomerase II by preventing the binding of the nucleic acid to the enzyme. It stimulates tyrosine phosphorylation processes including the Jak2/STAT5 pathway in NB2 lymphoma cells, ErbB4 in neuroblastoma cells, and MAP kinases, Shc proteins, phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase and phospholipase C in PC12 cells. Aurintricarboxylic acid inhibits apoptosis in many cell types. Its neuroprotective effect, perhaps due to its ability to prevent down-regulation of Ca2+ impermeable GluR2 receptors or to its ability to inhibit calpain, a Ca2+-activated protease that is activated during apoptosis.
