Mucic acid
Chemical compound
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mucic acid, C6H10O8 or HOOC-(CHOH)4-COOH (galactaric acid or meso-galactaric acid) is an aldaric acid obtained by nitric acid oxidation of galactose or galactose-containing compounds such as lactose, dulcite, quercite, and most varieties of gum.[2]
| Names | |
|---|---|
| IUPAC name
meso-Galactaric acid[1] | |
| Systematic IUPAC name
(2S,3R,4S,5R)-2,3,4,5-Tetrahydroxyhexanedioic acid | |
| Other names
Galactaric acid; Galactosaccharic acid | |
| Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) |
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| ChEMBL | |
| ChemSpider | |
| ECHA InfoCard | 100.007.641 |
PubChem CID |
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| UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) |
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| Properties | |
| C6H10O8 | |
| Molar mass | 210.138 g·mol−1 |
| Melting point | 230 °C (446 °F; 503 K) |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Properties
Mucic acid forms a crystalline powder, which melts at 210–230 °C.[3] It is insoluble in alcohol, and nearly insoluble in cold water.[2] Due to the symmetry in the molecule, it is optically inactive even though it has chiral carbon atoms (i.e., it is a meso compound).
Reactions
When heated with pyridine to 140 °C, it is converted into allomucic acid.[2][4] When digested with fuming hydrochloric acid for some time it is converted into αα′ furfural dicarboxylic acid while on heating with barium sulfide it is transformed into α-thiophene carboxylic acid.[2] The ammonium salt yields on dry distillation carbon dioxide, ammonia, pyrrol and other substances.[2] The acid when fused with caustic alkalis yields oxalic acid.[2]
With potassium bisulfate mucic acid forms 3-hydroxy-2-pyrone by dehydration and decarboxylation.

Reaction of mucic acid to 3-hydroxy-2-pyrone with a) potassium bisulfate 160 °C / 4 hrs. b) hydrochloric acid to pH = 7
Use
Mucic acid can be used to replace tartaric acid in self-raising flour or fizzies.
It has been used as a precursor of adipic acid in the way to nylon by a rhenium-catalyzed deoxydehydration reaction.[5]
It has been used as a precursor of Taxol in Nicolaou Taxol total synthesis (1994).


