Fluoroacetic acid
Fluoroacetic acid is an organofluorine compound with the chemical formula. It is a colorless solid that is noted for its relatively high toxicity. The conjugate base, fluoroacetate occurs naturally in at least 40 plants in Australia, Brazil, and Africa. It is one of only five known organofluorine-containing natural products.
Toxicity
Fluoroacetic acid is a harmful metabolite of some fluorine-containing drugs. The most common metabolic sources of fluoroacetic acid are fluoroamines and fluoroethers. Fluoroacetic acid can disrupt the Krebs cycle. The metabolite of fluoroacetic acid is fluorocitric acid, which is very toxic because it is not processable using aconitase in the Krebs cycle. The enzyme is inhibited and the cycle stops working.In contrast with fluoroacetic acid, difluoroacetic acid and trifluoroacetic acid are far less toxic. Its pKa is 2.66, in contrast to 1.24 and 0.23 for the respective di- and trifluoroacetic acid.