Metal chelation is an essential mechanism for many household and industrial cleaning scenarios. In laundry, a wide range of strongly coloured stains derive their colour from metal complexes which are present within the stains. Chelating the metals within these stain complexes, effectively removing them from the stain, removes the stain colour and is one of the main mechanisms of effective detergency. Furthermore, heavy metals can accumulate on fabrics, causing damage to the fibre structure over time, and reducing the effectiveness of other cleaning ingredients, such as oxidising agents (hydrogen peroxide) that suffer from metal-catalysed decomposition mechanisms. Effectively chelating these metals therefore, contributes to overall detergent performance. 

Some of the most prevalent chelators used in detergent products belong to the phosphonates class, including etidronic acid (HEDP) and DTPMP (diethylenetriamine penta(methylenephosphonic acid)). These non-biodegradable materials are used broadly across many industries (pharmaceuticals, detergents, water treatment, and cosmetics). There is a critical need to find biodegradable chelants which can match their performance in terms of ferric ion (Fe(III)) chelation.