Iodoacetic Acid

ICH₂COOH, an iodine-containing derivative of acetic acid; it exists in crystal form. Melting point, 82°–83°C. It is widely used in biochemical and physiological research as an inhibitor of glycolytic and other enzymes, particularly glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, which catalyzes the main reaction in the processes of fermentation and glycolysis. In the presence of iodoacetic acid, these processes remain in a state of dynamic equilibrium between fructose-1,6-diphosphate and phosphotriose—that is, the formation of the high-energy compound 1,3-diphosphoglyceric acid does not take place. The ability of iodoacetic acid to combine with the sulfhydryl (—SH) group of an enzyme, thus releasing HI, is the basis of its inhibition of enzymatic processes.