Succinic acid

Succinic acid is a four-carbon dicarboxylic acid with formula C₄H₆O₄. It occurs in cellular metabolism and is used in food, pharmaceutical, and chemical manufacturing.

Chemical structure: The arrangement of atoms and bonds that defines a molecule's identity and properties. Two terminal carboxyl groups flank a two-carbon chain, giving succinic acid its characteristic reactivity.
Bio-based succinic acid: Succinic acid produced by microbial fermentation of renewable feedstocks. Fermentation can supply industrial succinic acid from sugars instead of fossil-derived chemicals.
Citric acid cycle: A series of enzyme-catalyzed reactions that oxidizes acetyl groups and supplies cellular energy and biosynthetic precursors. Succinic acid is an intermediate in this cycle, where it is usually present as succinate.
Amber: Fossilized tree resin used historically as a material and source of chemical substances. Succinic acid was historically obtained by heating amber, giving it its name.
Glutaric acid: A five-carbon dicarboxylic acid with one more methylene group than succinic acid. The extra carbon changes its ring-forming behavior and distinguishes its chemical derivatives.
Dicarboxylic acid: An organic acid containing two carboxyl groups. Succinic acid belongs to this class, with one carboxyl group at each end.
1,4-Butanediol: An industrial diol used to make polymers, solvents, and other chemical products. Hydrogenation of succinic acid can produce this valuable chemical intermediate.
Succinate: The deprotonated form of succinic acid, predominant near physiological pH. Cells and biochemical references usually describe the molecule in this ionic form.
Georgius Agricola: A sixteenth-century German scholar known for writings on mining and metallurgy. His account of amber distillation helped document early production of succinic acid.
Adipic acid: A six-carbon dicarboxylic acid used widely in nylon production. Its longer carbon chain makes it a different industrial building block from succinic acid.

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