Nuclear magnetic resonance studies of the solution chemistry of metal complexes. XVII. Formation constants for the complexation of methylmercury by sulfhydryl-containing amino acids and related molecules

Abstract

Complexation of methylmercury, CH3Hg(II), by mercaptoacetic acid, mercaptoethanol, mercaptosuccinic acid, cysteine, penicillamine, homocysteine, and N-acetylpenicillamine has been studied by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The equilibrium constant for displacement of mercaptoacetic acid from its CH3Hg(II) complex by each of the other thiols was measured over a wide range of pH. From the displacement constants and a literature value for the formation constant of the mercaptoethanol complex of CH3Hg(II), formation constants were calculated for thiol complexes with the other ligands, including microscopic formation constants for cysteine and penicillamine complexes in which the amino groups are protonated and deprotonated. Detailed information on the acid–base chemistry of the free amino and carboxylic acid groups in the complexes is also reported. The formation constants increase as the Brønsted basicity of the deprotonated sulfhydryl group increases according to the relation log Kf = pK + 6.86. The conditional formation constants of the CH3Hg(II) complexes are strongly pH dependent due to competitive reactions involving hydrogen and hydroxide ions at low and high pH. The results at physiological pH are discussed with reference to the effectiveness of mercaptosuccinic acid, N-acetylpenicillamine, and penicillamine as antidotes for methylmercury poisoning.