The complete microspeciation of arginine and citrulline

1H NMR–pH titrations of arginine, the most basic natural amino acid and citrulline, its neutral counterpart were carried out. Two other closely related auxiliary compounds were also studied. The 8 macroscopic protonation constants were determined. Combining the four datasets in a deductive method, all the 12 microconstants of arginine, the 4 microconstants of citrulline and arginine amide were calculated. An error-propagation analysis and the pH-dependent distribution of the 8 arginine microspecies are provided.