The tripodal catecholamine ligand N-1,N-3,N-5-tris (2-(2,3-dihydroxybenzylamino)ethyl)cyclohexane-1,3,5-tricarboxamide (CYCOENCAT, L) has been synthesized and characterized. The ligand was investigated as a chelator for Fe(III) in an aqueous medium of 0.1 M KCl at (25 +/- 1) degrees C by potentiometric and spectrophotometric methods. Six protonation constants for the ligand were determined and were used as input data to determine the stability constants of the metal complexes. The stability constants for the FeLH3, FeLH2, FeLH, and FeL complexes are reported. The ligand showed the potential to form a tris(catecholate) type complex with a pFe value of 24.76 at pH = 7.4.