Abstract
Animal and plants contain carboxylic acids, which are involved in their metabolic reactions. It is also well known that metal ions are involved in their metabolic reactions. So far the complexation of carboxylate ions with metal ions has been extensively studied. Since neutral or acidic medium is existing in most of the biological reactions in animals and plants it is interesting to study the complexation of organic carboxylic acids in neutral medium with biologically active metal ions such as manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper and zinc. Complexes of phthalic acid were prepared in neutral medium and were characterized. In such complexes the carboxylic acid group is not ionised and carbonyloxygen of the carboxylic acids are coordinated to the metal ions. However the microbial study is not the scope of this work.
