Aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA) is a chemical compound that readily polymerizes in aqueous solution, forming a stable free radical that inhibits protein-nucleic acid interactions. It is a potent inhibitor of ribonuclease and topoisomerase II by preventing the binding of the nucleic acid to the enzyme. It stimulates tyrosine phosphorylation processes including the Jak2/STAT5 pathway in NB2 lymphoma cells, ErbB4 in neuroblastoma cells, and MAP kinases, Shc proteins, phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase and phospholipase Cγ in PC12 cells. It also inhibits apoptosis. It prevents down-regulation of Ca²⁺-impermeable GluR2 receptors and inhibits calpain, a Ca²⁺-activated protease that is activated during apoptosis. It is used to inhibit protein biosynthesis in its initial stages. Nominally, it is used in biological experiments as a protein inhibitor, and as an

ammonium salt The ammonium cation is a positively-charged polyatomic ion with the chemical formula or . It is formed by the protonation of ammonia (). Ammonium is also a general name for positively charged or protonated substituted amines and quaternary ...

(known as

aluminon Aluminon, the tri ammonium salt of aurintricarboxylic acid, is a dye often used to detect the presence of the aluminium ion in an aqueous solution. Aluminon forms a red complex salt in combination with Al3+. In addition to its use in qualitativ ...

) it is used as a reagent to estimate the

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

biological tissue In biology, tissue is a biological organizational level between cells and a complete organ. A tissue is an ensemble of similar cells and their extracellular matrix from the same origin that together carry out a specific function. Organs are th ...

, and foods. It was found that ATA is a strong inhibitor of topoisomerases and other nucleases. It might be useful for increasing efficiency of RNA isolation. It has been discovered that using aurintricarboxylic acid against influenza-A post-infection has a strong protective effect by inhibiting the

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

' ability to reproduce. In cultured canine

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blo ...

cells, it was found to reduce viral reproduction and

infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dis ...

when applied post-infection, but not when used as a '

vaccine A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.

'. It has also been shown to block the binding of the HIV coat molecule gp120 to the CD4 co-receptor on T cells through which it invades. Aurintricarboxylic acid and its ammonium salt shows antiviral activity ''in vitro'' against coronaviruses such as

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''seve ...

MERS Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory infection caused by ''Middle East respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus'' (MERS-CoV). Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. Typical symptoms include fever, cough, ...

and

SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a ...

, and while it is unlikely to have suitable properties to be developed as a medicine in its own right, it has proved useful in scientific research into novel antiviral drugs to combat these diseases.

Preparation

Aurintricarboxylic acid can be prepared by the condensation of

formaldehyde Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula and structure . The pure compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde (refer to section ...

with salicylic acid in the presence of nitrite-containing sulfuric acid.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aurintricarboxylic Acid Triarylmethane dyes Salicylic acids Phenol dyes Tricarboxylic acids Enoic acids Bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)methanes