Periodic acid is an inorganic acid commonly used as an oxidizing agent. Periodic acid oxidation
[1] is one of the steps in the periodate-resorcinol assay, used in the determination of sialic acid.
[2] Periodic acid reacts with 1,2 glycol linkage of carbohydrates to form aldehydes which can be stained by Schiff′s reagent. Therefore periodic-acid-Schiff′s reagent (PAS) is used in histochemistry to determine carbohydrates in tissue sections.
[3][4]