The reduction of hydroxamic acids with titanium(III) chloride: a tool for the characterization of siderophores.

Hydroxamic acid siderophores were observed to be inactivated by exposure to titanium(III) chloride. To study the reaction, a series of eight model hydroxamic acids were prepared and reacted with titanium(III) chloride. The products were shown by ir and NMR comparisons with authentic compounds to be the corresponding amides. The reduction was found to require 2 mol of titanium(III) per mol of hydroxamic acid.