Studies of the coordination of rare earth and transition metal nucleotide complexes by an electron spin echo method

Abstract

Titrations of the paramagnetic rate earth ions Ce(III), Nd(III), Er(III), and Yb(III) with ATP, ADP, adenosine, and the hexametaphosphate ligands have been performed in order to establish the conditions required to form saturated complexes. These titrations have been made by recording the decay envelope of electron spin echoes for a range of different concentrations of the species concerned and observing the ‘nuclear modulation effect’ in the echo envelope. This novel method can be used when optical titrations are not feasible. It also yields additional information concerning changes in the number and nature of the coordinating groups, in the distances of these groups from the paramagnetic ion, and in the degree of water coordination in the primary sphere. It was shown that: (a) ATP has a greater affinity than ADP for rate earth ions; (b) Ce(III) has a greater affinity than Nd(III) for ATP; (c) the interaction between rate earth ions and 31P nuclei in the added phosphates is greatest for cations with the smallest radii; (d) more phosphate groups are bound in hexametaphosphate complexes of rate earth ions than in the corresponding ATP complexes; (e) some of the coordination sites in rare earth ATP complexes are occupied by water. In othe studies performed with paramagnetic transition metal ions, it was shown that Co(II) can, under certain conditions, bind to the adenine moiety of ATP.