White, crystalline solid. Very slightly
soluble in water; soluble in concentrated sodium
hydroxide solutions.
Selectively oxidizes specific carbohydrates and
amino acids, wet-strengthens paper, aids combus-
tion of tobacco.
Sodium paraperiodate is used to wet-strengthen paper and to aid in tobacco combustion. It is used in solution to open saccharide rings between vicinal diols leaving two aldehyde groups. This process is often used in labeling saccharides with fluorescent molecules or other tags such as biotin.
Sodium (para)periodate is a hypervalent iodine compound.