Hydroxycarboxylic acids are

carboxylic acid In organic chemistry, a carboxylic acid is an organic acid that contains a carboxyl group () attached to an Substituent, R-group. The general formula of a carboxylic acid is often written as or , sometimes as with R referring to an organyl ...

s containing one or more hydroxy (

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

)

functional group In organic chemistry, a functional group is any substituent or moiety (chemistry), moiety in a molecule that causes the molecule's characteristic chemical reactions. The same functional group will undergo the same or similar chemical reactions r ...

s. They are of particular interest because several are bioactive and some are useful precursors to

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...

s. The inventory is large.

Important or common examples

Glycolic acid Glycolic acid (or hydroxyacetic acid; chemical formula ) is a colorless, odorless and hygroscopic crystal, crystalline solid, highly solubility, soluble in water. It is used in various skin care, skin-care products. Glycolic acid is widespread in ...

, , the parent hydroxycarboxylic acid, precursor to laquers * Hydroxypropionic acids, e.g., (

lactic acid Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has the molecular formula C3H6O3. It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as wel ...

), component of milk. chiral *

Hydroxybutyric acid Hydroxybutyric acid is a group of four-carbon organic compounds that have both hydroxyl and carboxylic acid functional groups. They can be viewed as derivatives of butyric acid. The carboxylate anion and the esters of hydroxybutyric acids are kn ...

s, ( beta-Hydroxybutyric acid), carbon-storage compound *

Citric acid Citric acid is an organic compound with the formula . It is a Transparency and translucency, colorless Weak acid, weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in Citrus, citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, ...

, , energy-carrying compound and iron-chelator *

Salicylic acid Salicylic acid is an organic compound with the formula HOC6H4COOH. A colorless (or white), bitter-tasting solid, it is a precursor to and a active metabolite, metabolite of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin). It is a plant hormone, and has been lis ...

, , precursor to

aspirin Aspirin () is the genericized trademark for acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions that aspirin is ...

Ricinoleic acid Ricinoleic acid, formally called 12-hydroxy-9-''cis''-octadecenoic acid, is a fatty acid. It is an Unsaturated fatty acid, unsaturated omega-9 fatty acid and a hydroxy acid. It is a major component of the seed oil obtained from the seeds of casto ...

(12-hydroxy-9-''cis''-octadecenoic acid)), a major component of the seed oil obtained from

castor plant ''Ricinus communis'', the castor bean or castor oil plant, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus, ''Ricinus'', and subtribe, Ricininae. The evolution of ca ...

*Common amino acids: **

Serine Serine (symbol Ser or S) is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α- amino group (which is in the protonated − form under biological conditions), a carboxyl group (which is in the deprotonated − ...

(2-amino-3-hydroxypropanoic acid), **

Threonine Threonine (symbol Thr or T) is an amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated −NH form when dissolved in water), a carboxyl group (which is in the deprotonated −COO− ...

Tyrosine -Tyrosine or tyrosine (symbol Tyr or Y) or 4-hydroxyphenylalanine is one of the 20 standard amino acids that are used by cells to synthesize proteins. It is a conditionally essential amino acid with a polar side group. The word "tyrosine" is ...

, {{chem2, 4\sHOC6H4CH2CH(NH2)CO2H *

Aldonic acid Aldonic acids are sugar acids with the general chemical formula, HO2C(CHOH)nCH2OH. They are obtained by oxidizing the aldehyde (-CHO group) of an aldose to form a carboxylic acid (-COOH group). Aldonic acids are generally found in their ring form ...

s are

sugar acids In organic chemistry, a sugar acid or acidic sugar is a monosaccharide with a carboxyl group at one end or both ends of its chain. Main classes of sugar acids include: * Aldonic acids, in which the aldehyde group () located at the initial end ( ...

with the general chemical formula, HO₂C(CHOH)_nCH₂OH. **

Gluconic acid Gluconic acid is an organic compound with molecular formula C6H12O7 and condensed structural formula HOCH2(CHOH)4CO2H. A white solid, it forms the gluconate anion in neutral aqueous solution. The salts of gluconic acid are known as "gluconates" ...

, a particularly common aldonic acid, the oxidized derivative of

glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...

Subclasses

Classes of hydroxycarboxylic acid are named by where the hydroxy group is on the carbon chain relative to the carboxylic group. *

Alpha hydroxy acid Alpha hydroxy carboxylic acids, or α-hydroxy carboxylic acids (AHAs), are a group of carboxylic acids featuring a hydroxy group located ''one'' carbon atom away from the acid group. This structural aspect distinguishes them from beta hydroxy aci ...

Beta hydroxy acid A beta hydroxy carboxylic acid or β-hydroxy carboxylic acid (BHA) is a carboxylic acid containing a hydroxy functional group separated by ''two'' carbon atoms. They are related to alpha hydroxy acids, in which the two functional groups are sep ...

Omega hydroxy acid Omega hydroxy acids (ω-hydroxy acids) are a class of naturally occurring straight-chain aliphatic organic acids ''n'' carbon atoms long with a carboxyl group at position 1 (the starting point for the family of carboxylic acids), and a hydroxyl at t ...

References

Hydroxy acids

Important or common examples

Subclasses

See also

References