Organoarsenic compound

An organoarsenic compound in organic chemistry is an organic compound containing a chemical bond between arsenic and carbon. Many organoarsenic compounds are produced industrially with uses as insecticide, herbicide and fungicide. The parent compound is arsine. The oldest known representative (1760) is the foul smelling cacodyl. Despite their toxicity, organoarsenic biomolecules are known for example the As betaine pendant arsenobetaine first identified in the Western rock lobster. In other biomolecules arsenicum is bound to carbohydrates collectively known as arsenosugars (found especially in seaweeds). One of the first synthetic antiobiotics was Salvarsan.

Relevant compounds
Some relevant organoarsenic compound are listed in he table below:

Other uses
The compounds 1,2-Bis(dimethylarsino)benzene and triphenylarsine are used as a chelating ligand. Trimethylarsine is used in Chemical vapor deposition in microelectronics. Thorin is an indicator for several metals.

Arsphenamine, Neosalvarsan and Atoxyl have at one time been used as drugs. Roxarsone is a food additive for chickens, improving weight gain.