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Vibrational study of the complexation of methylmercury by glutathione
Author(s) -
Alex Serge,
Savoie Rodrigue
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of raman spectroscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.748
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1097-4555
pISSN - 0377-0486
DOI - 10.1002/jrs.1250180105
Subject(s) - chemistry , glutathione , protonation , raman spectroscopy , methylmercury , thiol , inorganic chemistry , aqueous solution , sulfur , proton , cysteine , ion , organic chemistry , physics , selenium , quantum mechanics , optics , enzyme
The Raman spectra of aqueous mixtures of glutathione (GSH) and methylmercury(II) were obtained at various [GSH]/[CH 3 Hg(II)] ratios and pH conditions. The results show that the favored step in the complexation of these species is through the substitution of the proton on the thiol group of GSH by a CH 3 Hg + ion. Coordination of a second methylmercury ion on to the sulfur atom is also believed to occur extensively in acidic solutions, giving the charged complex GS(HgCH 3 ) 2 + . The decrease in the concentration of this species with increasing pH is partly compensated for by complexation through substitution of a proton on the protonated amino group of GSH, a process which is favored in basic solutions. A factor analysis, based on Raman spectra of various mixtures studied under different pH conditions, has shown that these three types of complexation accounts for nearly all of the interactions which take place between glutathione and methylmercury.