Under experimental conditions in which the self-association of the adenine phosphates (AP), that is, of adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP(2-)) and adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP(3-)), is negligible, potentiometric pH titrations were carried out to determine the stabilities of the M(H;AP) and M(AP) complexes where M(2+)=Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Sr(2+), Ba(2+), Mn(2+), Co(2+), Ni(2+), Cu(2+), Zn(2+), or Cd(2+) (25 degrees C; I=0.1 M, NaNO(3)). It is concluded that in the M(H;AMP)(+) species M(2+) is bound at the adenine moiety and in the M(H;ADP) complexes at the diphosphate unit; however, the proton resides in both types of monoprotonated complexes at the phosphate residue. The stabilities of nearly all the M(AMP) and M(ADP)(-) complexes are significantly larger than what is expected for a sole coordination of M(2+) to the phosphate residue. This increased complex stability is attributed, in agreement with previous (1)H NMR shift studies and further information existing in the literature, to the formation of macrochelates of the phosphate-coordinated metal ions with N7 of the adenine residues. On the basis of recent measurements with simple phosphate monoesters and phosphonate ligands (R-MP(2-)) as well as with diphosphate monoesters (R-DP(3-)), where R is a noncoordinating and noninhibiting residue, the increased stabilities of the M(AMP) and M(ADP)(-) complexes due to the M(2+)-N7 interaction could be evaluated and the extent of macrochelate formation calculated. The results show that the formation degrees of the macrochelates for the complexes of the alkaline earth ions are small (about 15 % at the most), whereas for the 3d metal ions as well as for Zn(2+) and Cd(2+) the formation degrees vary between about 15 % (Mn(2+)) and 75 % (Ni(2+)) with values of about 40 and 50 % for Zn(2+) and Cu(2+), respectively. It is interesting to note, taking earlier results for M(ATP)(2-) complexes also into account (ATP(4-)=adenosine 5'-triphosphate), that for a given metal ion in nearly all instances the formation degrees of the macrochelates are within the error limits the same for M(AMP), M(ADP)(-) and M(ATP)(2-) complexes; except for Co(2+) and Ni(2+) it holds M(AMP) > M(ADP)(-) approximately M(ATP)(2-). This result is astonishing if one considers that the absolute stability constants of these complexes, which are determined largely by the affinity of the phosphate residues, can differ by more than two orders of magnitude. The impact and conclusions of these observations for biological systems are shortly lined out.

The stability constants of the 1:1 complexes formed between Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Sr(2+), Ba(2+), Mn(2+), Co(2+), Ni(2+), Cu(2+), Zn(2+), or Cd(2+) and the pyrimidine-nucleoside 5'-diphosphates CDP(3)(-), UDP(3)(-), and dTDP(3)(-) (= NDP(3)(-)) were determined by potentiometric pH titration in aqueous solution (I = 0.1 M, NaNO(3); 25 degrees C). For comparison, the same values were measured for the corresponding complexes with the simple diphosphate monoesters (R-DP(3)(-)) phenyl diphosphate, methyl diphosphate, and n-butyl diphosphate. The acidity constants for H(3)(CDP)(+/-), H(2)(UDP)(-), H(2)(dTDP)(-), and H(2)(R-DP)(-) were measured also via potentiometric pH titration and various comparisons with related constants are made. By plotting log versus for the complexes of all six diphosphates mentioned and by a careful evaluation of the deviation of the various data pairs from the straight-line correlations, the expectation is confirmed that in the M(UDP)(-) and M(dTDP)(-) complexes the metal ion is only diphosphate-coordinated. The straight-line equations, which result from the mentioned correlations, together with the pK(a) value of a given monoprotonated diphosphate monoester allow now to predict the stability of the corresponding M(R-DP)(-) complexes. In this way, the experimentally determined stability constants for the M(CDP)(-) complexes are evaluated and it is concluded that the pyridine-like N3 of the cytosine residue does not participate in complex formation; i.e., the stability of the M(CDP)(-) complexes is also solely determined by the coordination tendency of the diphosphate residue. In all the monoprotonated M(H;NDP) and M(H;R-DP) complexes both, H(+) and M(2+), are bound at the diphosphate group. Only the Cu(H;CDP) complex exists in aqueous solution in the form of three different isomers: about 15% of the species have Cu(2+) and H(+) at the diphosphate residue, in about 13% Cu(2+) is bound at N3 and H(+) at the terminal beta-phosphate group, and the dominating isomer with about 72% carries the proton at N3 and the metal ion at the diphosphate residue. Several general features of phosphate-metal ion coordination are discussed, and estimations for the stabilities of the Fe(2+) complexes formed with mono-, di-, and triphosphate monoesters are provided.