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Salt correction factor for acids

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 12:30 pm
by analchem
Okay, this isn't LC/MS but I'm doing LC/MS so if you'll indulge me...

If you have a sodium salt of an acid (1:1 stoichiometric ratio) and you want to correct for the salt, do you "put the proton back on"?

For example, you want to measure and report acetic acid (mw = 60.05) but you only have sodium acetate (mw 82.03), do you use a correction factor of 60.05/82.03 or 59.04/82.03?

We don't have any controversy about salts of bases, because salt correction there only gives the free base which is neutral.

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:56 pm
by Consumer Products Guy
You want 60.05/82.03. You're taking off 23 for the sodium, replacing the hydrogen with 1, net change of 22.

We do this all the time in sodium soap/fatty acid business.