Citric Acid — Its Natural and Synthetic Derivatives

Physico-chemical and chemical properties of citric acid and methods of synthesis of its derivatives, namely esters, amides, 1,3-dioxolan-4-ones etc. are presented. The important group of natural derivatives of this acid belonging to the siderophore family, i.e. compounds fulfilling in nature the function of biocarriers of ferric ions, is described in detail. The recent advances in the total synthesis of natural siderophores — citric acid derivatives, its homologues and analogues of the “retro” type are summarized.