Salicylhydroxamic acid
[CAS 89-73-6]

Identification

• Classification: Chemical reagent >> Organic reagent >> Aromatic acid
• Name: Salicylhydroxamic acid
• Synonyms: 2-Hydroxybenzohydroxamic acid; N,2-Dihydroxybenzamide
• Molecular Formula: C₇H₇NO₃
• Molecular Weight: 153.14
• CAS Registry Number: 89-73-6
• EC Number: 201-934-3
• SMILES: C1=CC=C(C(=C1)C(=O)NO)O

Properties

• Density: 1.4±0.1 g/cm³ Calc.^*
• Melting point: 177 °C (Decomposes) (Expl.)
• Index of refraction: 1.626 (Calc.)^*

^* Calculated using Advanced Chemistry Development (ACD/Labs) Software.

Safety Data

• Hazard Symbols: GHS07;GHS08 Warning
• Risk Statements: H312+H332-H312-H315-H319-H332-H335-H351
• Safety Statements: P203-P261-P264-P264+P265-P271-P280-P302+P352-P304+P340-P305+P351+P338-P317-P318-P319-P321-P332+P317-P337+P317-P362+P364-P403+P233-P405-P501

Hazard Classification

Hazard	Class	Category Code	Hazard Statement
Skin irritation	Skin Irrit.	2	H315
Eye irritation	Eye Irrit.	2	H319
Specific target organ toxicity - single exposure	STOT SE	3	H335
Acute toxicity	Acute Tox.	4	H312
Acute toxicity	Acute Tox.	4	H332
Carcinogenicity	Carc.	2	H351
Germ cell mutagenicity	Muta.	2	H341

chemBlink Chemical Story

Salicylhydroxamic acid matters because the neighboring phenol and hydroxamate groups give salicylhydroxamic acid rich metal-chelation and biochemical behavior, including its use as SHAM in studies of alternative oxidase. This connection between molecular structure and observable behavior is more informative than a simple list of uses. CAS 89-73-6 identifies the substance in this chemBlink record, while its practical significance comes from the way its functional groups, composition, or material structure control reactivity and physical properties.

The broader lesson is that chemical identity alone does not determine performance. Conditions such as pH, temperature, formulation, concentration, molecular distribution, or biological environment can decide whether the same underlying chemistry is useful, inactive, or hazardous. For chemists, Salicylhydroxamic acid is therefore a useful case study in connecting molecular-scale behavior with a real laboratory, industrial, biological, or materials-science outcome.

References: PubChem: Salicylhydroxamic Acid, CAS 89-73-6; biochemical literature on SHAM

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