The UV–vis absorption, Raman
imaging, and resonance Raman
(rR) spectroscopy methods were employed to study cyanohemoglobin (HbCN)
adducts inside living functional red blood cells (RBCs). The cyanide
ligands are especially optically sensitive probes of the active site
environment of heme proteins. The rR studies of HbCN and its isotopic
analogues (
13
CN
–
, C
15
N
–
, and
13
C
15
N
–
), as well as a careful deconvolution of spectral data, revealed
that the ν(Fe–CN) stretching, δ(Fe–CN) bending,
and ν(C≡N) stretching modes occur at 454, 382, and 2123
cm
–1
, respectively. Interestingly, while the ν(Fe–CN)
modes exhibit the same frequencies in both the isolated and RBC-enclosed
hemoglobin molecules, small frequency differences are observed in
the δ(Fe–CN) bending modes and the values of their isotopic
shifts. These studies show that even though the overall tilted conformation
of the Fe–C≡N fragment in the isolated HbCN is preserved
in the HbCN enclosed within living cells, there is a small difference
in the degree of distortion of the Fe–C≡N fragment.
The slight changes in the ligand geometry can be reasonably attributed
to the high ordering and tight packing of Hb molecules inside RBCs.