General description

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is a polyprotic acid. The four carboxylic acid and two amine groups with lone-pair electrons of EDTA can chelate calcium and several other metal ions.

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt solution is a chelating agent suitable for molecular biology applications.

Application

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt solution has been used:

in Tris hydrochloric acid (HCl) for digesting proteinase-K to determine the amount of DNA in the corneal sample
with papain to digest corneal samples for the quantification of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content
in pretreatment for detaching epithelial cells grown to 80% confluency
to prepare stock solutions for lysis buffer
in the preparation of urea lysis buffer

Biochem/physiol Actions

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is used in the treatment of patients poisoned with heavy metal ions. This permeating and sensitizing agent is also used for treating biofilm-associated conditions in dentistry, medical devices, and veterinary medicine. EDTA is currently formulated into commercially available wound dressings in human medicine to regulate matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and manage wound infections. It is combined with other active agents to regulate microorganisms and biofilms, including citric acid, alcohol, antibiotics, polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) quaternary ammonium compounds, iodine, silver, surfactants, and other antiseptics. For hematological testing, EDTA acts as an anticoagulant due to its ability in preserving the cellular components and morphology of blood cells.