Gallium nitrate is the gallium

Gallium

Gallium is a chemical element that has the symbol Ga and atomic number 31. Elemental gallium does not occur in nature, but as the gallium salt in trace amounts in bauxite and zinc ores. A soft silvery metallic poor metal, elemental gallium is a brittle solid at low temperatures. As it liquefies...

 salt of nitric acid

Nitric acid

Nitric acid , also known as aqua fortis and spirit of nitre, is a highly corrosive and toxic strong acid.Colorless when pure, older samples tend to acquire a yellow cast due to the accumulation of oxides of nitrogen. If the solution contains more than 86% nitric acid, it is referred to as fuming...

 with the chemical formula

Chemical formula

A chemical formula or molecular formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound....

 Ga(NO₃)₃. It is a drug used to treat symptomatic hypercalcemia secondary to cancer. It works by preventing the breakdown of bone through the inhibition of osteoclast

Osteoclast

An osteoclast is a type of bone cell that removes bone tissue by removing its mineralized matrix and breaking up the organic bone . This process is known as bone resorption. Osteoclasts were discovered by Kolliker in 1873...

 activity, thus lowering the amount of free calcium

Calcium

Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...

in the blood. Gallium nitrate is also used to synthesize other gallium compounds.

Preparation

Gallium nitrate is commercially available as the hydrate. The nonahydrate may also be prepared by dissolving gallium in nitric acid, followed by recrystallization. The structure of gallium nitrate nonahydrate has been determined by X-ray crystallography.