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In chemistry an arsenite is a chemical compound containing an arsenic oxoanion where arsenic has oxidation state +3. Examples of arsenites include sodium arsenite which contains a polymeric linear anion, [AsO2-]n, silver arsenite, Ag3AsO3, which contains the trigonal, As
Arsenic

Arsenic is a well-known chemical element that has the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250....
O
Oxygen

Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
33− anion, sometimes called ortho-arsenite.
Arsenite contrasts to the corresponding anions of the lighter members of group 15, phosphite
Phosphite

The phosphite ion is a polyatomic ion with a phosphorus central atom where phosphorus has an oxidation state of +3. Its geometry is approximately tetrahedral.The bonding can be described in terms of a number of resonance canonicals, effectively delocalising the negative charges across the three equivalent oxygen atoms.Many phosphite salts, s...
 which has the structure HPO32- and nitrite
Nitrite

The nitrite ion is NO2-. The anion is bent, being isoelectronic with ozone. More generally, a nitrite compound is either a Salt or an ester of nitrous acid....
, NO2- which is planar. Sodium arsenite is used in the water gas shift reaction
Water gas shift reaction

The water-gas shift reaction is a chemical reaction in which carbon monoxide reacts with water to form carbon dioxide and hydrogen:The water-gas shift reaction is an important industrial reaction....
 to remove carbon dioxide.

Note that in fields that commonly deal with groundwater chemistry, arsenite commonly refers to As2O3
Arsenic trioxide

Arsenic trioxide is the most important commercial compound of arsenic, and the main starting material for arsenic chemistry. It is the highly toxic byproduct of certain kinds of ore processing, for example gold mining....
.
species of bacteria
Bacteria

The Bacteria are a large group of unicellular microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals....
 obtain their energy by oxidizing
Redox

Redox describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number changed.This can be either a simple redox process such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide or the reduction of carbon by hydrogen to yield methane , or it can be a complex process such as the oxidation of sugar in the human body through a ser...
 various fuels while reducing
Redox

Redox describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number changed.This can be either a simple redox process such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide or the reduction of carbon by hydrogen to yield methane , or it can be a complex process such as the oxidation of sugar in the human body through a ser...
 arsenate
Arsenate

The arsenate ion is ArsenicOxygen43−.An arsenate is any chemical compound that contains this ion.The arsenic atom in arsenate has a valency of 5 and is also known as pentavalent arsenic or As[V]....
s to form arsenites.






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In chemistry an arsenite is a chemical compound containing an arsenic oxoanion where arsenic has oxidation state +3. Examples of arsenites include sodium arsenite which contains a polymeric linear anion, [AsO2-]n, silver arsenite, Ag3AsO3, which contains the trigonal, As
Arsenic

Arsenic is a well-known chemical element that has the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250....
O
Oxygen

Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
33− anion, sometimes called ortho-arsenite.
Arsenite contrasts to the corresponding anions of the lighter members of group 15, phosphite
Phosphite

The phosphite ion is a polyatomic ion with a phosphorus central atom where phosphorus has an oxidation state of +3. Its geometry is approximately tetrahedral.The bonding can be described in terms of a number of resonance canonicals, effectively delocalising the negative charges across the three equivalent oxygen atoms.Many phosphite salts, s...
 which has the structure HPO32- and nitrite
Nitrite

The nitrite ion is NO2-. The anion is bent, being isoelectronic with ozone. More generally, a nitrite compound is either a Salt or an ester of nitrous acid....
, NO2- which is planar. Sodium arsenite is used in the water gas shift reaction
Water gas shift reaction

The water-gas shift reaction is a chemical reaction in which carbon monoxide reacts with water to form carbon dioxide and hydrogen:The water-gas shift reaction is an important industrial reaction....
 to remove carbon dioxide.

Note that in fields that commonly deal with groundwater chemistry, arsenite commonly refers to As2O3
Arsenic trioxide

Arsenic trioxide is the most important commercial compound of arsenic, and the main starting material for arsenic chemistry. It is the highly toxic byproduct of certain kinds of ore processing, for example gold mining....
.

Bacteria using and generating arsenate

Some species of bacteria
Bacteria

The Bacteria are a large group of unicellular microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals....
 obtain their energy by oxidizing
Redox

Redox describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number changed.This can be either a simple redox process such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide or the reduction of carbon by hydrogen to yield methane , or it can be a complex process such as the oxidation of sugar in the human body through a ser...
 various fuels while reducing
Redox

Redox describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number changed.This can be either a simple redox process such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide or the reduction of carbon by hydrogen to yield methane , or it can be a complex process such as the oxidation of sugar in the human body through a ser...
 arsenate
Arsenate

The arsenate ion is ArsenicOxygen43−.An arsenate is any chemical compound that contains this ion.The arsenic atom in arsenate has a valency of 5 and is also known as pentavalent arsenic or As[V]....
s to form arsenites. The enzyme
Enzyme

Enzymes are biomolecules that catalysis chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called Substrate , and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products....
s involved are known as arsenate reductases.

In 2008, bacteria were discovered that employ a version of photosynthesis
Photosynthesis

File:Seawifs global biosphere.jpgPhotosynthesis is a metabolic pathway that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight....
 with arsenites as electron donor
Electron donor

An electron donor is a chemical entity that donates electrons to another compound. It is a reducing agent that, by virtue of its donating electrons, is itself oxidized in the process....
s, producing arsenates (just like ordinary photosynthesis uses water as electron donor, producing molecular oxygen). The researchers conjectured that historically these photosynthesizing organisms produced the arsenates that allowed the arsenate-reducing bacteria to thrive.

In humans, arsenite inhibits Pyruvate Dehydrogenase (PDH complex) in the pyruvate ? acetyl CoA reaction and binds to the SH group of Lipoamide, a participant coenzyme. In this inhibition, arsenite poisoning affects energy production in the body.

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