Haemoglobin and Myoglobin: Coordination Chemistry Doing a Job
Inorganic Chemistry · Bioinorganic Haemoglobin and Myoglobin: Coordination Chemistry Doing a Job Bioinorganic questions are coordination chemistry questions wearing biological clothing. The reasoning is the same — geometry, spin state and ligand field. BSc & MSc · Inorganic Chemistry · Concept The short answer: Both proteins carry iron in a porphyrin ring. Myoglobin has one such site and binds oxygen with a simple hyperbolic curve; haemoglobin has four and binds cooperatively, giving a sigmoidal curve. The cooperativity is a structural consequence of a spin-state change moving the iron into the porphyrin plane. The haem group Both proteins are built around…