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Structure of Calcium Oxalate Monohydrate

Nature volume 208, pages 1197–1198 (1965)Cite this article

Abstract

ALTHOUGH details of the structure of some of the hydrates of calcium oxalate have been reported1,2, the monohydrate is less amenable to crystallographic analysis, since the synthetic salt3 precipitates as a finely divided powder and the naturally occurring mineral whewollite usually contains impurities4,5. Calcium oxalate occurs widely in biological subjects, however, and in plants, where X-ray diffraction powder diagrams have been used to distinguish the various hydrates6,7, crystals of optically visible size are commonplace8. In the course of our investigation of the nature of calcium oxalate in plants, we have been able to isolate crystals of the monohydrate of sufficient size to permit complete measurement of the lattice.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. F. G. E. PAUTARD: National Science Foundation Senior Visiting Foreign Scientist, Cell Research Institute, University of Texas.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cell Research Institute, University of Texas, Austin

    H. J. ARNOTT

  2. Astbury Department of Biophysics, University of Leeds,

    F. G. E. PAUTARD

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin

    H. STEINFINK

Authors
  1. H. J. ARNOTT
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  2. F. G. E. PAUTARD
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  3. H. STEINFINK
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ARNOTT, H., PAUTARD, F. & STEINFINK, H. Structure of Calcium Oxalate Monohydrate. Nature 208, 1197–1198 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1038/2081197b0

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