Sodium arsenite usually refers to the

inorganic compound In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as '' inorganic chemi ...

with the formula NaAsO₂. Also called sodium ''meta''-arsenite, it is the

sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable ...

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quanti ...

of arsenous acid. Sodium ''ortho''-arsenite is Na₃AsO₃.Greenwood, N. N.; & Earnshaw, A. (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd Edn.), Oxford:Butterworth-Heinemann. . The compounds are colourless solids. Sodium-catena-arsenite-chains-from-xtal-2004-3D-balls

Sodium-catena-arsenite-chains-from-xtal-2004-3D-balls

Synthesis and structure

A mixture of sodium ''meta''-arsenite and sodium ''ortho''-arsenite is produced by treating arsenic trioxide with sodium carbonate or sodium hydroxide. Sodium arsenite is

amorphous In condensed matter physics and materials science, an amorphous solid (or non-crystalline solid, glassy solid) is a solid that lacks the long-range order that is characteristic of a crystal. Etymology The term comes from the Greek language ...

, typically being obtained as a powder or as a glassy mass. The compound consists of the polymer sO₂associated with sodium cations, Na⁺. The polymer backbone has the connectivity -O-As(O⁻)-.

Health effects

Sodium arsenite can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Along with its known carcinogenic and

teratogenic Teratology is the study of abnormalities of physiological development in organisms during their life span. It is a sub-discipline in medical genetics which focuses on the classification of congenital abnormalities in dysmorphology. The relat ...

effects, contact with the substance can yield symptoms such as skin irritation, burns, itching, thickened skin, rash, loss of pigment, poor appetite, a metallic or garlic taste, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, decreased blood pressure, and headache. Severe acute poisoning may lead to nervous system damage resulting in weakness, poor coordination, or “pins and needles” sensations, eventual paralysis, and death.

Application

It is primarily used as a pesticide, but has other uses such as hide preservative, antiseptic, dyeing, and soaps. Sodium arsenite is an appropriate chemical stressor to induce the production of heat shock proteins, and the formation of cytoplasmic stress granules. Sodium arsenite can be used as a reducing agent in organic chemistry, as it is able to reduce a trihaloalkane to a dihaloalkane: :CHBr₃ + Na₃AsO₃ + NaOH → CH₂Br₂ + Na₃AsO₄ + NaBr

Safety

The LD₅₀ (oral, mouse) is 40 mg/kg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sodium Arsenite Arsenites Sodium compounds