Biphasic kinetics in the reaction between amino acids or glutathione and the chromium acetate cluster, [Cr3O(OAc)6]

Kinetics for the breakdown of the trinuclear chromium acetate cluster with a series of monoprotic and diprotic amino acid ligands and with glutathione in aqueous media have been investigated spectrophotometrically at pH 3.5–5.5 and in a temperature range of 45–60 °C. Under pseudo-first-order conditions, reactions with these ligands exhibited biphasic kinetic behavior that can be accounted for by a consecutive two-step reaction, A → B → C, where A is assumed to be a forced ion pair, B an intermediate and C is the product; experimental data fit to a biexponential equation for the transformation. Rates for k_short, k_long, and k_obs were determined by manual extrapolation of absorbance data or curve-fitting routines; associated activation parameters for each step of the reaction were calculated using the Eyring equation. Rates for the first and second steps of the reaction are on the order of 10⁻⁴ and 10⁻⁵ s⁻¹, respectively. The large negative values of ΔS^‡ and smaller ΔH^‡ in the first step indicate an associative step, while high positive values of ΔS^‡ in the second step indicate dissociation. To account for the results mechanistically, the results are interpreted to be a first step of ligand exchange with a pseudo-axial aqua ligand, followed by a dissociative step involving acetate or oxo ligand displacement. The dissociative step is the rate determining step, with k_obs ≈ k_long.The results demonstrate reaction pathways that are available to the Cr(III) metal centers that may be physiologically relevant in the ligand-rich environment of biological systems. Under general conditions Cr(III) clusters may be expected to be broken down, unless some unique biological environment stabilizes the cluster. The present study has application to the processes related to Cr(III) transport and excretion, to potential mechanisms of Cr(III) action in a biological setting, and to the pharmacokinetics of Cr(III) supplements for animal and human consumption.