Trisodium ethylenediamine disuccinate EDDS is a chemical compound, trisodium salt of disuccinic acid, using Ethylenediamine as its building block.

The name describes the structure of the molecule:

• Trisodium indicates the presence of three sodium ions in the molecule.
• Ethylenediamine refers to an organic structure that contains two amine groups (-NH₂) separated by an ethylene group (-CH₂CH₂-).
• Disuccinate indicates that there are two units of succinic acid attached to the ethylenediamine molecule.

Description of the raw materials used in its production:

• Ethylenediamine  is a diamine with the chemical formula H2NCH2CH2NH2. It is often produced synthetically through ammonolysis or hydrolysis of ethylenediammonium.
• Succinic Acid  is a dicarboxylic acid with the chemical formula HOOC(CH2)2COOH. It can be derived from natural sources such as certain plants or synthesized through the hydrogenation of maleic acid.
• Sodium  is an alkali metal commonly used to prepare salts like Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate.

Industrial chemical synthesis step-by-step:

• Condensation of Ethylenediamine with Succinic Acid - Ethylenediamine reacts with succinic acid in a condensation reaction to form Ethylenebis(imino)disuccinic acid (EDDS). This reaction involves the elimination of water.
• Neutralization with Sodium - The obtained EDDS is neutralized with sodium to form Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate. During this neutralization, the EDDS acquires three sodium ions (Na+) to form the final compound.
• Purification - Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate is then purified to remove any impurities and by-products.
• Drying and Packaging - The purified product is dried to remove residual moisture and then packaged for distribution and use in the detergent and cleaning product industry.

It appears as a white crystalline powder.

Cosmetics

It has chelating function predominantly used in shampoos.

• Chelating agent. It has the function of preventing unstable reactions and improving the bioavailability of chemical components within a product, and removes calcium and magnesium cations that can cause cloudiness in clear liquids.

Other uses

Trisodium ethylenediamine disuccinate [S,S]-ethylenediamine-disuccinate can be used as a biodegradable chelator for the remediation of metal pollution by soil washing because although it has two chiral carbons and three stereoisomers, one of these, [S,S] is readily biodegradable (1).

The most relevant studies on this chemical compound have been selected with a summary of their contents:

Trisodium ethylenediamine disuccinate studies

Typical commercial product characteristics  Ethylene diamino-disuccinic acid

• Molecular Formula  C₁₀H₁₆N₂O₈      C₁₀H₁₃N₂Na₃O₈
• Molecular Weight    292.24
• CAS  20846-91-7    178949-82-1
• UNII    5WK2FGJ113
• EC Number   202-045-3
• DSSTox Substance ID  DTXSID1051852
• IUPAC  (2S)-2-[2-[[(1S)-1,2-dicarboxyethyl]amino]ethylamino]butanedioic acid
• InChI=1S/C10H16N2O8/c13-7(14)3-5(9(17)18)11-1-2-12-6(10(19)20)4-8(15)16/h5-6,11-12H,1-4H2,(H,13,14)(H,15,16)(H,17,18)(H,19,20)/t5-,6-/m0/s1 
• InChl Key      VKZRWSNIWNFCIQ-WDSKDSINSA-N
• SMILES   C(CNC(CC(=O)O)C(=O)O)NC(CC(=O)O)C(=O)O
• MDL number  
• PubChem Substance ID    
• RTECS   CI9450800

Synonyms

• N,N'-Ethylenedi-L-aspartic acid
• L-Aspartic acid, N,N-1,2-ethanediylbis-
• Ethylene diamino-disuccinic acid
• Ethylendiamine-N,N-disuccinic acid
• (2S)-2-[2-[[(1S)-1,2-dicarboxyethyl]amino]ethylamino]butanedioic acid
• N,N′-Ethylenedi-(aspartic acid) trisodium salt
• Trisodium ethylenediamine-N,N′-disuccinate
• Ethylenediamine-N,N′-disuccinic acid trisodium salt

References_______________________________________________________________________

(1) Boethling, R.S., Sommer, E. and DiFiore, D., 2007. Designing small molecules for biodegradability. Chemical reviews, 107(6), pp.2207-2227.