Abstract
The application of electron-spin resonance to the study of haemoglobin derivatives is outlined in this paper and the particular advantages of this method are considered. It is shown that detailed information can be obtained concerning the central iron atom and its immediate surroundings. This information can be divided into two kinds, first that concerned with the electronic state of the iron atom and the type of chemical binding to its nearest neighbours, and, secondly, that concerned with the symmetry of the iron atom’s surroundings and thus the orientation of the haem planes. It is therefore possible, by studying the angular variation of the spectra in detail, to determine the orientation of the haem planes with respect to each other and the crystal axes. Such measurements for myoglobin and haemoglobin crystals are then summarized, the latter being of particular interest as they show that the four haem groups per molecule are not parallel but that some have their normals along the direction of nearest approach to the neighbouring molecules.
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