Sodium periodate is the sodium

Sodium

Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...

 salt of periodic acid

Periodic acid

Periodic acid, or iodic acid is an oxoacid of iodine having chemical formula HIO4 or H5IO6.In dilute aqueous solution, periodic acid exists as discrete hydronium and metaperiodate ions. When more concentrated, orthoperiodic acid, H5IO6, is formed; this dissociates into hydronium and...

. It can refer to two different chemical compounds, sodium metaperiodate (often abbreviated as m-periodate), which has the formula NaIO₄, and sodium orthoperiodate (often abbreviated as o-periodate), which has the formula Na₂H₃IO₆. Both salts are useful in certain synthetic chemistries for the oxidative power of the periodate ion.

Properties

Density is 3.865 g cm⁻³. It is soluble in water. When heated, it decomposes to form sodium iodate (NaIO₃) and oxygen. This decomposition

Decomposition

Decomposition is the process by which organic material is broken down into simpler forms of matter. The process is essential for recycling the finite matter that occupies physical space in the biome. Bodies of living organisms begin to decompose shortly after death...

 reaction is catalyzed by the presence of manganese(IV) oxide.

Preparation

Sodium metaperiodate can be isolated from the oxidation of sodium iodide

Sodium iodide

Sodium iodide is a white, crystalline salt with chemical formula NaI used in radiation detection, treatment of iodine deficiency, and as a reactant in the Finkelstein reaction.-Uses:Sodium iodide is commonly used to treat and prevent iodine deficiency....

 with sodium hypochlorite and is best recrystallized from nitric acid

Nitric acid

Nitric acid , also known as aqua fortis and spirit of nitre, is a highly corrosive and toxic strong acid.Colorless when pure, older samples tend to acquire a yellow cast due to the accumulation of oxides of nitrogen. If the solution contains more than 86% nitric acid, it is referred to as fuming...

. However, electrochemistry offers an easier alternative.

Uses

Sodium periodate is used to oxidize cellulose

Cellulose

Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β linked D-glucose units....

 and create a biocompatible and biodegradable compound

Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...

 that can be used as suture, as a scaffold for tissue engineering

Tissue engineering

Tissue engineering is the use of a combination of cells, engineering and materials methods, and suitable biochemical and physio-chemical factors to improve or replace biological functions...

, or for drug delivery

Drug delivery

Drug delivery is the method or process of administering a pharmaceutical compound to achieve a therapeutic effect in humans or animals. Drug delivery technologies modify drug release profile, absorption, distribution and elimination for the benefit of improving product efficacy and safety, as well...

.

Sodium periodate can be used in solution to open saccharide rings between vicinal diols

Diol

A diol or glycol is a chemical compound containing two hydroxyl groups A geminal diol has two hydroxyl groups bonded to the same atom...

 leaving two aldehyde groups. This process is often used in labeling saccharides with fluorescent molecules or other tags such as biotin

Biotin

Biotin, also known as Vitamin H or Coenzyme R, is a water-soluble B-complex vitamin discovered by Bateman in 1916. It is composed of a ureido ring fused with a tetrahydrothiophene ring. A valeric acid substituent is attached to one of the carbon atoms of the tetrahydrothiophene ring...

. Because the process requires vicinal diols, periodate oxidation is often used to selectively label RNA

RNA

Ribonucleic acid , or RNA, is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life....

 (ribose

Ribose

Ribose is an organic compound with the formula C5H10O5; specifically, a monosaccharide with linear form H––4–H, which has all the hydroxyl groups on the same side in the Fischer projection....

 has vicinal diols) instead of DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

 as deoxyribose

Deoxyribose

Deoxyribose, more, precisely 2-deoxyribose, is a monosaccharide with idealized formula H---3-H. Its name indicates that it is a deoxy sugar, meaning that it is derived from the sugar ribose by loss of an oxygen atom...

does not have vicinal diols.