Interaction of Alkaline Earth Metal Ions with Acetic and Lactic Acid in Aqueous Solutions

Interaction of alkaline earth metal (magnesium, calcium, strontium and barium) ions with acetic and lactic acid in aqueous media was investigated by C NMR spectroscopy. In the acetate systems, signals whose chemical shifts were the averages of those of the free and bound acetate ions were observed. Downfield shifts of the carboxylate carbon signals with increasing metal ion concentration indicated that the acetate ion acted as a monodentate ligand coordinating to the metal ion using the carboxylate group. The metal ion concentration dependence of the peak positions of the methine and carboxylate carbon signals of the lactate ion in the lactate systems suggested that the lactate ion coordinated to a metal ion using the carboxylate and hydroxyl groups. Unique upfield shifts upon complexation in the magnesium lactate systems suggested that the lactate ion coordinated to the magnesium ion from outside the primary hydration sphere. The present results were consistent with the isotope effects of the alkaline earth metals observed in cation exchange chromatography.