ContaminantDB: Formaldehyde

Identification Taxonomy Biological Properties Physical Properties Toxicity Profile Spectra Concentrations Links References Targets (3)XML

Record Information

Version

1.0

Creation Date

2009-03-06 18:58:21 UTC

Update Date

2026-03-27 01:46:14 UTC

Accession Number

CHEM000213

Identification

Common Name

Formaldehyde

Class

Small Molecule

Description

Formaldehyde is a highly reactive aldehyde gas formed by oxidation or incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons. In solution, it has a wide range of uses: in the manufacture of resins and textiles, as a disinfectant, and as a laboratory fixative or preservative. Formaldehyde solution (formalin) is considered a hazardous compound, and its vapor toxic. (From Reynolds, Martindale The Extra Pharmacopoeia, 30th ed, p717) -- Pubchem; The chemical compound formaldehyde (also known as methanal), is a gas with a pungent smell. It is the simplest aldehyde. Its chemical formula is H2CO. Formaldehyde was first synthesized by the Russian chemist Aleksandr Butlerov in 1859 but was conclusively identified by August Wilhelm van Hofmann in 1867. Although formaldehyde is a gas at room temperature, it is readily soluble in water, and it is most commonly sold as a 37% solution in water called by trade names such as formalin or formol. In water, formaldehyde polymerizes, and formalin actually contains very little formaldehyde in the form of H2CO monomer. Usually, these solutions contain a few percent methanol to limit the extent of polymerization. Formaldehyde exhibits most of the general chemical properties of the aldehydes, except that is generally more reactive than other aldehydes. Formaldehyde is a potent electrophile. It can participate in electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions with aromatic compounds and can undergo electrophilic addition reactions with alkenes. In the presence of basic catalysts, formaldehyde undergoes a Cannizaro reaction to produce formic acid and methanol. Because formaldehyde resins are used in many construction materials, including plywood, carpet, and spray-on insulating foams, and because these resins slowly give off formaldehyde over time, formaldehyde is one of the more common indoor air pollutants. At concentrations above 0.1 mg/kg in air, inhaled formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and mucous membranes, resulting in watery eyes, headache, a burning sensation in the throat, and difficulty breathing. -- Wikipedia.

Contaminant Sources

Clean Air Act Chemicals
Disinfection Byproducts
EAFUS Chemicals
FooDB Chemicals
HMDB Contaminants - Urine
HPV EPA Chemicals
IARC Carcinogens Group 1
OECD HPV Chemicals
OSHA Hazardous Chemicals
STOFF IDENT Compounds
T3DB toxins
Tobacco Smoke Compounds

Contaminant Type

Aldehyde
Cigarette Toxin
Cosmetic Toxin
Disinfectant
Fixative
Food Toxin
Household Toxin
Industrial Precursor/Intermediate
Industrial/Workplace Toxin
Lachrymator
Metabolite
Natural Compound
Organic Compound
Pollutant

Chemical Structure

MOL SDF 3D-SDF PDB SMILES InChI View 3D Structure

Synonyms

Value	Source
Formaldehyd	ChEBI
FORMALIN	ChEBI
Methanal	ChEBI
Methylene oxide	ChEBI
Oxomethane	ChEBI
Oxomethylene	ChEBI
Hyperband	Kegg
Formol	MeSH
Methaldehyde	HMDB
Methylene glycol	HMDB
Aldeide formica	HMDB
Fannoform	HMDB
Formalina	HMDB
Formaline	HMDB
Formalith	HMDB
Formic aldehyde	HMDB
Paraform	HMDB

Chemical Formula

CH₂O

Average Molecular Mass

30.026 g/mol

Monoisotopic Mass

30.011 g/mol

CAS Registry Number

50-00-0

IUPAC Name

formaldehyde

Traditional Name

formaldehyde

SMILES

C=O

InChI Identifier

InChI=1S/CH2O/c1-2/h1H2

InChI Key

WSFSSNUMVMOOMR-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Chemical Taxonomy

Description

belongs to the class of organic compounds known as carbonyl compounds. These are organic compounds containing a carbonyl group, with the general structure RC(=O)R', where R=organyl, R'=H, N, O, organyl group or halide group.

Kingdom

Organic compounds

Super Class

Organic oxygen compounds

Class

Organooxygen compounds

Sub Class

Carbonyl compounds

Direct Parent

Carbonyl compounds

Alternative Parents

Substituents

Organic oxide
Hydrocarbon derivative
Carbonyl group
Aliphatic acyclic compound

Molecular Framework

Aliphatic acyclic compounds

External Descriptors

one-carbon compound (CHEBI:16842 )
aldehyde (CHEBI:16842 )
an <i>n</i>-alkanal (FORMALDEHYDE )

Biological Properties

Status

Detected and Not Quantified

Origin

Exogenous

Cellular Locations

Cytoplasm
Extracellular
Lysosome
Mitochondria
Peroxisome

Biofluid Locations

Not Available

Tissue Locations

Adipose Tissue
Adrenal Cortex
Adrenal Gland
Adrenal Medulla
Bladder
Bone Marrow
Brain
Fibroblasts
Gonads
Intestine
Kidney
Liver
Lung
Muscle
Myelin
Nerve Cells
Neuron
Pancreas
Placenta
Platelet
Prostate
Skeletal Muscle
Skin

Pathways

Name	SMPDB Link	KEGG Link
Glycine and Serine Metabolism	SMP00004	map00260

Applications

disinfectant

Biological Roles

Chemical Roles

Physical Properties

State

Liquid

Appearance

Not Available

Experimental Properties

Property	Value
Melting Point	-92°C
Boiling Point	Not Available
Solubility	400 mg/mL at 20°C [PICKRELL,JA et al. (1983)]

Predicted Properties

Property	Value	Source
Water Solubility	198 g/L	ALOGPS
logP	-0.68	ALOGPS
logP	-0.47	ChemAxon
logS	0.82	ALOGPS
pKa (Strongest Basic)	-8.1	ChemAxon
Physiological Charge	0	ChemAxon
Hydrogen Acceptor Count	1	ChemAxon
Hydrogen Donor Count	0	ChemAxon
Polar Surface Area	17.07 Å²	ChemAxon
Rotatable Bond Count	0	ChemAxon
Refractivity	6.31 m³·mol⁻¹	ChemAxon
Polarizability	2.58 Å³	ChemAxon
Number of Rings	0	ChemAxon
Bioavailability	1	ChemAxon
Rule of Five	Yes	ChemAxon
Ghose Filter	No	ChemAxon
Veber's Rule	Yes	ChemAxon
MDDR-like Rule	No	ChemAxon

Spectra

Spectrum Type	Description	Splash Key	View
Predicted GC-MS	Predicted GC-MS Spectrum - GC-MS (Non-derivatized) - 70eV, Positive	splash10-001i-9000000000-2863df3346e6e0796248	Spectrum
Predicted GC-MS	Predicted GC-MS Spectrum - GC-MS (Non-derivatized) - 70eV, Positive	Not Available	Spectrum
Predicted LC-MS/MS	Predicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 10V, Positive	splash10-001i-9000000000-793a330f9e6c7661e86d	Spectrum
Predicted LC-MS/MS	Predicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 20V, Positive	splash10-001i-9000000000-793a330f9e6c7661e86d	Spectrum
Predicted LC-MS/MS	Predicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 40V, Positive	splash10-001i-9000000000-793a330f9e6c7661e86d	Spectrum
Predicted LC-MS/MS	Predicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 10V, Negative	splash10-004i-9000000000-5ea4ad4bdb0565b737bb	Spectrum
Predicted LC-MS/MS	Predicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 20V, Negative	splash10-004i-9000000000-5ea4ad4bdb0565b737bb	Spectrum
Predicted LC-MS/MS	Predicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 40V, Negative	splash10-004i-9000000000-5ea4ad4bdb0565b737bb	Spectrum
Predicted LC-MS/MS	Predicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 10V, Negative	splash10-004i-9000000000-1534590d4d03d9b463f5	Spectrum
Predicted LC-MS/MS	Predicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 20V, Negative	splash10-004i-9000000000-1534590d4d03d9b463f5	Spectrum
Predicted LC-MS/MS	Predicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 40V, Negative	splash10-004i-9000000000-1534590d4d03d9b463f5	Spectrum
Predicted LC-MS/MS	Predicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 10V, Positive	splash10-001i-9000000000-eaca5f454fe5238ba078	Spectrum
Predicted LC-MS/MS	Predicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 20V, Positive	splash10-001i-9000000000-eaca5f454fe5238ba078	Spectrum
Predicted LC-MS/MS	Predicted LC-MS/MS Spectrum - 40V, Positive	splash10-001i-9000000000-eaca5f454fe5238ba078	Spectrum
MS	Mass Spectrum (Electron Ionization)	splash10-004i-9000000000-58b4df664ee160d1f943	Spectrum
1D NMR	1H NMR Spectrum	Not Available	Spectrum
1D NMR	1H NMR Spectrum	Not Available	Spectrum
1D NMR	13C NMR Spectrum	Not Available	Spectrum
1D NMR	1H NMR Spectrum	Not Available	Spectrum
1D NMR	1H NMR Spectrum	Not Available	Spectrum
1D NMR	1H NMR Spectrum	Not Available	Spectrum
1D NMR	1H NMR Spectrum	Not Available	Spectrum
1D NMR	1H NMR Spectrum	Not Available	Spectrum
1D NMR	1H NMR Spectrum	Not Available	Spectrum
1D NMR	1H NMR Spectrum	Not Available	Spectrum
1D NMR	1H NMR Spectrum	Not Available	Spectrum
1D NMR	1H NMR Spectrum	Not Available	Spectrum
1D NMR	1H NMR Spectrum	Not Available	Spectrum
2D NMR	[1H,1H] 2D NMR Spectrum	Not Available	Spectrum

Toxicity Profile

Route of Exposure

Oral (24) ; inhalation (24) ; dermal (24)

Mechanism of Toxicity

It is likely that formaldehyde toxicity occurs when intracellular levels saturate formaldehyde dehydrogenase activity, allowing the unmetabolized intact molecule to exert its effects. Formaldehyde is known to form cross links between protein and DNA and undergo metabolic incorporation into macromolecules (DNA, RNA, and proteins). (24)

Metabolism

Formaldehyde may be absorbed following inhalation, oral, or dermal exposure. It is an essential metabolic intermediate in all cells and is produced during the normal metabolism of serine, glycine, methionine, and choline and also by the demethylation of N-, S-, and O-methyl compounds. Exogenous formaldehyde is metabolized to formate by the enzyme formaldehyde dehydrogenase at the initial site of contact. After oxidation of formaldehyde to formate, the carbon atom is further oxidized to carbon dioxide or incorporated into purines, thymidine, and amino acids via tetrahydrofolatedependent one-carbon biosynthetic pathways. Formaldehyde is not stored in the body and is excreted in the urine (primarily as formic acid), incorporated into other cellular molecules, or exhaled as carbon dioxide. (24)

Toxicity Values

LD50: 300 mg/kg (Subcutaneous, Mouse) (25) LD50: 42 mg/kg (Oral, Mouse) (25) LD50: 87 mg/kg (Intravenous, Rat) (25) LD50: 16 mg/kg (Intraperitoneal, Mouse) (26) LC50: 0.414 mg/L over 4 hours (Inhalation, Mouse) (1)

Lethal Dose

Not Available

Carcinogenicity (IARC Classification)

1, carcinogenic to humans. (23)

Uses/Sources

Formaldehyde is used in the production of fertilizer, paper, plywood, and urea-formaldehyde resins. It is also also used as a preservative in some foods and in many products used around the house, such as antiseptics, medicines, and cosmetics. (24)

Minimum Risk Level

Acute Inhalation: 0.04 ppm (22) Intermediate Inhalation: 0.03 ppm (22) Chronic Inhalation: 0.008 ppm (22) Intermediate Oral: 0.3 mg/kg/day (22) Chronic Oral: 0.2 mg/kg/day (22)

Health Effects

Drinking large amounts of formaldehyde can cause severe pain, vomiting, coma, and possible death. Formaldehyde is also a known human carcinogen. (24)

Symptoms

Low levels of formaldehyde can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and skin. (24)

Treatment

Not Available

Concentrations

Not Available

External Links

DrugBank ID

DB03843

HMDB ID