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Idea to explore: The structure of the oxygen and iron ion
Author(s) -
Makovec Tomaž
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
biochemistry and molecular biology education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.34
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1539-3429
pISSN - 1470-8175
DOI - 10.1002/bmb.21181
Subject(s) - deoxygenated hemoglobin , diamagnetism , superoxide , chemistry , hemoglobin , electron paramagnetic resonance , ion , paramagnetism , oxygen , heme , singlet oxygen , reactive oxygen species , peroxide , molecule , chemical physics , nuclear magnetic resonance , physics , condensed matter physics , biochemistry , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , magnetic field , enzyme
Understanding diamagnetism of oxygenated and paramagnetism of deoxygenated hemoglobin, an important topic in (bio) chemistry for medical students, begins with the understanding of the detailed structure of the oxygen molecule. It continues with a short description of the structures of reactive oxygen species: the singlet form of oxygen, the superoxide, and peroxide anions. The article then describes the high spin and low spin form of the iron ion with its d ‐orbitals and explains why both forms with different diameters exist in the heme part. At the end, medical applications of the acquired knowledge are presented: the cooperative effect in hemoglobin and the principles of magnetic resonance imagining. © 2018 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 46(6):630–633, 2018.