Trichloroacetic Acid Solution, MP Biomedicals™

In the presence of SDS, Trichloroacetic acid will precipitate proteins which can then be quantified by the Lowry method. Trichloroacetic acid has also been used to determine protein concentration by quantitative precipitation. It is also used as a decalcifier and fixative in microscopy. A protocol exists for the precipitation of nucleic acids.

Rats exposed to chronic sublethal amounts of trichloroacetic acid displayed an increase in serum bilirubin with a decrease in hematological proteins and cholesterols along with significant decreases in red blood corpuscles, mean cell volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, hemoglobin and hematocrit. In mice the production of liver tumors was associated to Trichloroacetic acid, which is also a known mouse hepatocarinogen. On the guinea pig trichloroacetic acid was observed to be a mild alergen on the skin.