View Full Version : Fe3+ and oxygen bonding
gravenewworld
Oct23-09, 06:47 PM
Methemoglobinanemia is when the iron atom in the heme group of hemoglobin is oxidized to the +3 state. In this oxidation state, the heme group is unable to carry oxygen. Why is this? A ton of the sources I have come across explain the condition of methemoglobinanemia and simply say that the ferric ion can't carry O2, but don't explain why the ferric ion can not carry O2. I want to understand this on a molecular level. I already have an understanding of how the iron binds to O2 in the +2 oxidation state from the papers that Pauling has written. Can anyone please explain why O2 can not bind to the heme group when the iron atom is oxidized to the +3 state?
No idea, but I suppose you should look at the changes in electronic configuration of Fe - whatever is able to keep the oxygen, disappears when iron is oxidized.
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chemisttree
Oct27-09, 01:20 AM
It is likely that the much stronger lewis acid cannot reversibly bond to O2 but rather, reacts with it. All 8 positions of the octahedral complex are blocked. It is likely that the oxygen carried by the Fe+2 normal heme group reacts with oxygen to form the Fe+3 oxidized species.
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