Quantitative measurement of metal chelation by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Nutritionally important minerals are more readily absorbed by living systems when complexed with organic acids, resulting in higher consumer demand and premium prices for these products. These chelated metals are produced by reaction of metal oxides and acids in aqueous solution. However, unreacted dry blends are sometimes misrepresented as metal chelates, when in reality they are only simple mixtures of the reactants typically used to synthesize them. This practice has increased interest in developing analytical methods that are capable of measuring the extent of metal chelation for quality control and regulatory compliance. We describe a novel method to rapidly measure the percent chelation of citric and malic acids with calcium, magnesium, and zinc. Utilization of attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) provides for the direct, rapid measurement of solid samples. The inclusion of an internal standard allows independent determination of either free or chelated acids from integrated areas in a single spectrum.