New trends in the chemistry of iron(III) citrate complexes: correlations between X-ray structures and solution species probed by electrospray mass spectrometry and kinetics of iron uptake from citrate by iron chelators.

Despite the crucial role of "iron(III) citrate systems" in the iron metabolism of living organisms (bacteria as well as plants or mammals), the coordination chemistry of ferric citrate remains poorly defined. Variations in the experimental conditions used for the preparation of so-called ferric citrates (iron salt, Fe:cit molar ratio, base, pH, temperature, solvent) lead to several different species, which are in equilibrium in solution. To date, six different anionic complexes have been structurally characterized in the solid state, by ourselves or others.