| ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid | (HOOC-CH2)2N(CH2) 2N(CH2-COOH)2;a chelating agent used to remove multivalent cations from solution as chelates, and used in biochemical research to remove Magnesium, Fe2+, etc., from reactions affected by such ions. As the sodium salt, used as a water softener, to stabilise drugs rapidly decomposed in the presence of traces of metal ions, and as an anticoagulant; as the sodium calcium salt, used to remove radium, lead, strontium, plutonium, and cadmium from the skeleton, forming stable un-ionised soluble compounds that are excreted by the kidneys. Compare: EGTA. Synonym: edathamil, edetic acid. Acronym: EDTA (05 Mar 2000) |
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