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Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Quantification of the Potential Impact of Glyphosate-Based Products on Microbiomes
Published on: January 10, 2022
Binding of glyphosate by open-chain polyammonium cations
Lorenzo Abate1, Concetta De Stefano2, Claudia Foti2
1Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Universita' di Catania, Viale A. Doria, 6, I-95125 Catania, Italy.
Abstract:
Interaction of glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl)-glycine) with six polyamines (ethylendiamine, cadaverine, putrescine, triethylenetetramine, spermine, and tetraethylenepentamine) was studied potentiometrically. Several species of different stoichiometry are formed in the various systems, according to the general formation reaction [Formula: see text] (where A = amine and glp = glyphosate). The complex species formed are always [Formula: see text] with r = 1 … (n + 2) (n = maximum degree of protonation of amines). The stability of various complexes is a linear function of charges involved in the formation reaction, and can be expressed as logKij = 0.9(±0.2)ζ (where ζ = i [3 - j]). From the temperature dependence of formation constants, ΔH° (and TΔS°) values have been obtained. Formation percentages of mixed glyphosate-polyammonium cation complexes are relevant also in low concentration conditions, and this means that these species may play a significant role in the speciation of natural fluids containing the reactants.
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