denticity

thumb|220px|Atom withmonodentate ligands

In coordination chemistry, denticity () refers to the number of donor groups in a given ligand that bind to the central metal atom in a coordination complex. In many cases, only one atom in the ligand binds to the metal, so the denticity equals one, and the ligand is said to be unidentate or monodentate. Ligands with more than one bonded atom are called multidentate or polydentate. The denticity of a ligand is described with the Greek letter κ ('kappa'). For example, κ6-EDTA describes an EDTA ligand that coordinates through 6 non-contiguous atoms.