A zwitterion (first part pronounced "tsvitter", from German "Zwitter" — "hybrid," "hermaphrodite")'s a chemical compound that carries a total net charge of 0 and's thus electrically neutral, but carries formal positive and negative charges on different atoms. Some chemists restrict this term to refer to compounds with non-adjacent positive and negative charges. This would exclude compounds such as N-oxides. Zwitterions are polar and are usually very water-soluble, but poorly soluble in mos… (More on Zwitterion)