Zwitterion Totally Explained

Everything about Zwitterion totally explained

A zwitterion (first part pronounced "tsvitter", from German "Zwitter" — "hybrid," "hermaphrodite") is a chemical compound that's electrically neutral but carries formal positive and negative charges on different atoms. Zwitterions are polar and usually have a high solubility in water and a poor solubility in most organic solvents. Ampholytes are molecules that contain both acidic and basic groups (and are therefore amphoteric) and will exist mostly as zwitterions in a certain range of pH. The pH at which the average charge is zero is known as the molecule's isoelectric point.

Applications

Ampholytes are used to establish a stable pH gradient for use in isoelectric focusing.
Typical examples of zwitterions are:

Most amino acids at physiological pH are for the most part zwitterionic.
Used as buffering agents in Good's buffers:
- The amino-sulfonic acid based MES, MOPS, HEPES, PIPES or CAPS
- The amino-carboxylic acid (amino acid) based glycine, its derivatives bicine and tricine, and alanine
Used as detergents:
- CHAPSO
Natural products like the alkaloids psilocybin and lysergic acid.
Betaines Less common examples of zwitterions are:
Quinonoid zwitterions.
Drugs such as Fexofenadine (Allegra) and Cephaloridine.
decaphenylferrocene [(η⁵-C₅Ph₅)₂Fe] has been shown to have a zwitterionic linkage isomer [(η⁵-C₅Ph₅)Fe⁺(η⁶-C₆H₅C₅Ph₄⁻)].

Further Information

Get more info on 'Zwitterion'.

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