The reduced form of aquacobalamin binds nitric oxide very effectively to yield a nitrosyl adduct,Cbl(II)-NO. UV-vis,
1H-,
31P-, and
15N NMR data su
ggest that the reaction product under physiolo
gicalconditions is a six-coordinate, "base-on" form of the vitamin with a weakly bound
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g. The nitrosyl adduct can formallybe described as Cbl(III)-NO
-. The kinetics of the bindin
g and dissociation reactions was investi
gated bylaser flash photolysis and stopped-flow techniques, respectively. The activation parameters,
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ges/entities/thermod.gif">, for the forward and reverse reactions were estimated from the effect of temperature and pressure on thekinetics of these reactions. For the "on" reaction of Cbl(II) with NO, the small positive
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ggest the operation of a dissociative interchan
ge (
Id) substitution mechanism at the Co(II) center. Detailedlaser flash photolysis and
17O NMR studies provide evidence for the formation of water-bound intermediatesin the laser flash experiments and stron
gly support the proposed
Id mechanism. The kinetics of the "off"reaction was studied usin
g an NO-trappin
g technique. The respective activation parameters are also consistentwith a dissociative interchan
ge mechanism.