Spin, oxidation, and ligand states of p-nitrothiophenolatoiron(III) complex of protoporphyrin-IX-dimethylester in the presence of 1-MeIm: magnetic circular dichroism and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic studies

Complex formation of 5-coordinated iron(III) heme containing thiolate anion (p-nitrothiophenol) with imidazole (1-methylimidazole) showed very interesting features depending on the nature of the solvent and the ratio of the ligand to heme. The complexes formed under different conditions were not only low spin iron(III) complexes with a thiolate anion and an imidazole or with two imidazoles, but also reduced (iron(II] complexes with a thiolate and an imidazole or with two imidazoles. Absorption, magnetic circular dichroism, and 1H NMR spectroscopies could identify the complex formed when they were used concurrently. The dependence of polarity of the solvents used on the resultant chemical species was ascribed to the stability of Fe(III) or Fe(II) complex in the different solvents. The iron(III) complex with a thiolate anion and an imidazole was found to be reduced automatically to the iron(II) complex with a thiolate and an imidazole which exchanged ligand to the iron(II) bisimidazoles in the presence of excess imidazole. This study showed that the ligands of heme are easily exchanged and that the heme iron(III) is automatically reduced in several conditions. Possible significance with respect to biological systems containing a sulfur ligand is discussed.     

Models for ferric cytochrome P450. Characterization of hemin mercaptide complexes by electronic and ESR spectra.

Hemin coordinated with mercaptide sulfur as fifth ligand and various sixth ligands were investigated as models for cytochrome P450 in its native ferric low-spin state and its ligand complexes. Mixing the hemin with its ligands below -60 degrees C prevented the reduction of the hemin by mercaptide and made it possible to characterize each sample both by electronic and ESR spectra. Excess of mercaptide formed hemin-dimercaptide complexes with hyperporphyrin spectra with two Soret bands around 380 and 370 nm. The second mercaptide could be exchanged by other ligands with hydroxyl, phosphine, thioether, isocyanide, amine, imidazole, and pyridine groups. The comparison of these spectral data with cytochrome P450 substantiates mercaptide as the fifth ligand and makes a hydroxyl group a more likely candidate for the native sixth ligand than an imidazole group.     

1H nmr studies of complexes of ferric leghemoglobin with substituted pyridines and nicotinic acids

The ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (nmr) spectra of complexes of soybean ferric leghemoglobin with 3-substituted pyridines and 5-substituted nicotinic acids have been recorded in order to determine the influence of axial ligands on heme electronic structure. The hyperfine shifted resonances of the heme group were assigned by analogy to previous assignments for the pyridine and nicotinic acid complexes of leghemoglobin. The spectra are characteristic of predominantly low-spin ferric heme complexes. For the pyridine complexes, the rate of ligand exchange was found to increase with decreasing ligand pK_A. For many of the complexes, optical and nmr spectra reveal the presence of an equilibrium mixture of high- and low-spin states of the iron atom. The percentage of high-spin component increases with decreasing ligand pK_A Smaller hyperfine shifts are noted for leghemoglobin complexes with ligands capable of weak ligand → metal π bonding. The pattern of hyperfine shifted resonances is similar for all complexes studied and indicates that the overall heme electronic structure is dominated by the bonding to the proximal histidine.     

Spectroscopic studies on the copper(II) complexes of carnosine

Carnosine complexes with copper(II) ions were studied with magnetic resonance techniques over a wide range of ligand to metal ratios at various pH values. Water proton relaxation rates increased with decreasing carnosine to copper ratios until a molar ratio of 48 was reached. Over the ratio range of 48–2 carnosine molecules per copper ion, the relaxation rate decreased so that in the 2:1 carnosine-copper(II) complex, the water-copper(II) distance was estimated to be 1.92 Å. Proton NMR studies revealed the broadening of imidazole proton lines at high mole ratios followed by other histidyl protons as the ratio decreased. The β-alanyl methylene protons were the last to be broadened by the addition of copper(II) ions. Carbon to copper(II) distances were determined for the carnosine to copper mole ratios of 500:1 and 5000:1. EPR spectra obtained at 93°K revealed the probable existence of four carnosine imidazoles as the sole coordinated ligands to copper(II) at high dipeptide-to-metal ratios (>10). At mole ratios below four, nuclear hyperfine lines characteristic of both monomeric and dimeric carnosine-copper(II) forms were observed. These results reveal that imidazole from carnosine is the sole ligand contributed to copper(II) for coordination over the pH range 5 to 7 at high carnosine to copper(II) ratios     

Model systems for the coordination chemistry of cytochrome P-450.

Studies on model complexes have supported the presence of a mercaptide as the fifth ligand of cytochrome P-450 monooxygenases. When alcohol or thiol ligands are added to the sixth coordination position of a five-coordinated 4-nitrobenzene thiolate complex of FeIII protoporphyrin IX dimethyl ester chloride low spin complexes with optical and EPR-spectra very similar to cytochrome P-450 are obtained. From a comparison with all ligands of cytochrome P-450 and the model complexes it is concluded that a hard ligands must occupy the sixth coordination position of cytochrome P-450. An imidazole group is less likely, also in view of the ligand field parameters. The significance of the fifth and sixth ligand of cytochrome P-450 is discussed with respect to the monooxygenase mechanism.     

Binuclear copper(II) complexes of some potentially sexadentate phthalazine hydrazone ligands

Binuclear copper(II) complexes of three potentially sexadentate phthalazine hydrazone ligands, obtained by reacting 1,4-dihydrazinophthalazine with an appropriate aldehyde, are reported, in which variable terminal donor substituents include the phenol (DPSI), N-methyl imidazole (DPIM) and pyridine (PHP) groups. For the phenol substituted ligand (DPSI) the phenol residues are sufficiently acidic that in most cases this ligand behaves as a dianion. Hydroxy bridged structures are proposed in almost all cases based on analytical, infrared and magnetic data. Reduced magnetic moments are observed for all compounds indicating anti-ferromagnetically coupled copper(II) centres and in six cases magnetic moments of < 0.5 BM are observed. The copper(II) centres appear to have distorted square planar stereochemistries in the systems which involve two metals bound to each ligand. In one case involving the copper chloride complex of DPIM a polynuclear system is proposed involving three metals per ligand.     

nmr and infrared spectroscopic investigations of the Al(III), Ga(III), and Be(II) complexes of ATP

The interaction of Al(III) with ATP has been examined by ³¹P and ¹H nmr and infrared spectroscopy. At pH 6.2, Al(III) forms a long-lived complex with ATP, in which chemical exchange between free and complexed ATP is slow on the nmr time scale. Infrared spectra of the Al(III)-ATP complex exhibit large perturbations in the band corresponding to the -PO₃^2? antisymmetric stretching mode. At higher pH values, equilibria involving Al(III) and OH^? become favored with the result that Al(III) no longer influences the spectroscopic properties of ATP. Similar spectroscopic results are obtained for the Ga(III) and Be(II) complexes of ATP.     

Ligational behavior of a novel biologically active donor toward Cu(II) and Ni(II) ions and potentiation of its antibacterial activity by chelation with metal ions

The chelating behavior of a new multidentate ligand with tuberculostatic activity toward Cu(II) and Ni(II) ions has been studied. This ligand 3-(2-carboxyhydrazine)phenylimino-2-oximobutane(H2C POB) is found to chelate the above metal ions in both its keto and enol forms. The probable structures of all the complexes and the location of the bonding sites have been established through magnetic and spectroscopic (infrared, electronic) studies. The Cu(II) complex of the enol form exhibits subnormal magnetic moment at room temperature, indicating the probable existence of some sort of super exchange phenomenon in the system. The ligand itself and a few of its Cu(II) complexes have been found to exert powerful in vitro antibacterial activity toward some tuberculosis mycobacteria, such as Mycobacterium flae, Mycobacterium smegmatis, and Mycobacterium H37Rv.     

Metal ion-biomolecule interactions. III. Versatility of metal ion binding to imidazoles. Synthesis and 1H nmr spectroscopic properties of N- and C-bound mercury(II) complexes

Methylmercury(II) and mercury(II) complexes of imidazole (1), 1-methylimidazole (2), and the 1,3-dimethylimidazolium ion (3) have been prepared in aqueous or ethanolic solution. Elemental analysis and ¹H nmr spectroscopy have been used to characterize the complexes. The MeHg (Me = methyl) binding sites have been identified as N₁, N₃ (1), N₃, C₂ (2), and C₂ (3). Reaction with HgO leads to the formation of Hg-bridged complexes of the type Im-Hg-Im, (Im = imidazole), where bonding occurs through N₁ (1) and C₂ (3); the latter is also formed as a result of symmetrization of the C₂-bound MeHg complex. The formation of the C₂-bound (carbene) complexes is discussed in terms of the increased acidity of the C₂ proton resulting from coordination of an electrophilic species at N₃. Based on electrostatic considerations, there appears to be a “minimum degree of activation” required before C₂ bonding can occur, which explains the lack of this coordination mode in 1. ¹⁹⁹Hg-¹H spin-spin coupling (⁴J) is observed for C-bound mercury, but not for N-bound mercury, which is interpreted in terms of a decreased ligand exchange rate in the former case, due to the greater stability of the Hg-C bond. ²J coupling constants measured in (CD₃)₂SO for a number of MeHg complexes of heterocyclic ligands (including the imidazoles of the present study) correlate well with the ligand pK_a (25°C, aqueous solution), according to ²J = ?3.88 pK_a + 248.5. Results in the present work are discussed in relation to our previous work with nucleosides. The significance of the results to biological systems is considered.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of phenylimidazole inhibitor complexes of cytochrome P450 cam

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed on three phenylimidazole inhibitor complexes ofP450 _cam, utilizing the X-ray structures and the AMBER suite of programs. Compared to their corresponding optimized X-ray structures, very similar features were observed for the 1-phenylimidazole (1-PI) and 2-phenylimidazole (2-PI) complexes during a 100 ps MD simulation. The 1-PI inhibitor binds as a Type II complex with the imidazole nitrogen as a ligand of the heme iron. Analysis of the inhibitor-enzyme interctions during the MD simulations reveals that electrostatic interactions of the imidazole with the heme and van der Waals interactions of the phenyl ring with nearby hydrophobic residues are dominant. By contrast, 2-PI binds as a Type I inhibitor in the substrate binding pocket, but not as a ligand of the iron. The interactions of this inhibitor are qualitatively different from that of the Type II 1-PI, being mainly electrostatic/H-bonding interactions with a bound water and polar residues. Although the third compound, 4-PI, in common with 1-PI, also binds as a Type II inhibitor, with one nitrogen of the imidazole as a ligand to the iron, the MD average binding orientation deviates significantly from the X-ray structure. The most important changes observed include: (1) the rotation of the imidazole ring of this inhibitor by about 90° to enhance electrostatic interactions of the imidazole NH group with the carbonyl group of LEU244, and (2) the rotation of the carbonyl group of ASP251 to form a H-bond with VAL254. An analysis of the H-bonding network surrounding this substrate in the optimized crystal structure revealed that there is no H-bonding partner either for the free polar NH group in the imidazole ring of 4-phenylimidazole or for the polar carbonyl group of the nearby ASP251 residue. The deviation of the dynamically averaged inhibitor-enzyme structure of the 4-PI complex from the optimized crystal structure can therefore be rationalized as a consequence of the optimization of the electrostatic interactions among the polar groups.     

Axial ligand complexes of the<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Rhodnius</Emphasis> nitrophorins: reduction potentials,binding constants,EPR spectra,and structures of the 4-iodopyrazole and imidazole complexes of NP4

Previously, we utilized 4-iodopyrazole (4IPzH) as a heavy atom derivative for the initial solution of the crystal structure of the nitrophorin from Rhodnius prolixus, NP1, where it was found to bind to the heme with the iodo group disordered in two positions. We have now determined the structure of the 4IPzH complex of NP4 at pH 7.5 and find that the geometry and bond lengths at the iron center are extremely similar to those of the imidazole (ImH) complex of the same protein (structure determined at pH 5.6), except that the G–H loop is not in the closed conformation. 4IPzH binds to the heme of NP4 in an ordered manner, with the iodo substituent pointed toward the opening of the heme pocket, near the surface of the protein. In order to understand the solution chemistry in terms of the relative binding abilities of 4IPzH, ImH, and histamine (Hm, a physiological ligand for the nitrophorins), we have also investigated the equilibrium binding constants and reduction potentials of these three ligand complexes of the four Rhodnius nitrophorins as a function of pH. We have found that, unlike the other Lewis bases, 4IPzH forms less stable complexes with the Fe(III) than the Fe(II) oxidation states of NP1 and NP4, and similar stability for the two oxidation states of NP2 and NP3, suggesting that this ligand is a softer base than ImH or Hm, for both of which the Fe(III) complexes are more stable than those of Fe(II) for all four nitrophorins. Surprisingly, in spite of this and the much lower basicity of 4IPzH than imidazole and histamine, the EPR g-values of all three ligand complexes are very similar.Abbreviations NP1–4 nitrophorins 1–4 from Rhodnius prolixus - 4IPzH 4-iodopyrazole - ImH imidazole - Hm histamine - NO nitric oxide - NOS nitric oxide synthase     

Copper(II) complexes of carnosine, glycylglycine, and glycylglycine-imidazole mixtures

Carnosine complexes with copper(II) ions were studied with magnetic resonance techniques over a wide range of ligand to metal ratios at various pH values. Water proton relaxation rates increased with decreasing carnosine to copper ratios until a molar ratio of 48 was reached. Over the ratio range of 48–2 carnosine molecules per copper ion, the relaxation rate decreased so that in the 2:1 carnosine-copper(II) complex, the water-copper(II) distance was estimated to be 1.92 Å. Proton NMR studies revealed the broadening of imidazole proton lines at high mole ratios followed by other histidyl protons as the ratio decreased. The β-alanyl methylene protons were the last to be broadened by the addition of copper(II) ions. Carbon to copper(II) distances were determined for the carnosine to copper mole ratios of 500:1 and 5000:1. EPR spectra obtained at 93°K revealed the probable existence of four carnosine imidazoles as the sole coordinated ligands to copper(II) at high dipeptide-to-metal ratios (>10). At mole ratios below four, nuclear hyperfine lines characteristic of both monomeric and dimeric carnosine-copper(II) forms were observed. These results reveal that imidazole from carnosine is the sole ligand contributed to copper(II) for coordination over the pH range 5 to 7 at high carnosine to copper(II) ratios     

Transient intermediates in the reduction of Fe(III) myoglobin-ligand complexes by electrons at low temperature

1. The reductions of a number of sperm-whale Fe(III) myoglobin-ligand complexes by electrons generated by gamma-irradiation in ethylene glycol/water glass, have been investigated by using low-temperature spectrophotometry. The ligands are azide, fluoride, imidazole and water. 2. The reduction of the Fe(III) myoglobin-ligand complexes at 77 K leads to the formation of low-spin liganded Fe(II) myoglobin, in the case of the azide, imidazole and water derivatives, while the reduction of the fluoride derivative proceeds both by a pathway involving prior dissociation of the ligand and with the ligand in position. 3. Investigation of the effect of temperature on the stability of the Fe(II) myoglobin-ligand complexes indicates that more than one bound states exists in dissociation of the ligand molecule from the ferrous heme iron of the reduced azide and imidazole derivatives. 4. The results are discussed in terms of the possible structure of the Fe(II) myoglobin complexes and it is suggested that the low-spin state is created by a strained configuration of the heme center with the iron atom in an intermediate position relative to the heme plane.     

Chemical properties of water-soluble porphyrins. 4. The reaction of a 'picket-fence-like' iron (III) complex with the superoxide oxygen couple

Solution properties of the iron-(III) 'picket-fence-like' porphyrin, Fe(III)-alpha,alpha,alpha, beta-tetra-ortho (N-methyl-isonicotinamidophenyl) porphyrin, (Fe(III)PFP) were investigated. These were acid/base properties of the aquo complex with pKa of 3.9 and its aggregation (formation of dimer with K = 1 X 10(-10) dm3 mol-1), complex formation with cyanide ions and 1-methyl imidazole (1-MeIm), spectral properties of the three iron complexes in their ferric and ferrous form and the one-electron reduction potential of these complexes. Knowing these properties, the reaction of the ferric complexes, aquo, dicyano and bis (1-MeIm), with the superoxide radical and other reducing radicals were studied using the pulse radiolysis technique. The second-order reaction rate constant of O2- with the iron (III) aquo complex which governs the catalytic efficiency of the metalloporphyrin upon the disproportionation of the superoxide radical was 7.6 X 10(7) dm3 mol-1 s-1, two orders of magnitude faster when compared to the reaction of each of the other complexes. The reduction by other radicals with all iron (III) complexes had similar second-order rate constants (10(9) to 10(10) dm3 mol-1 s-1). The reduction reaction in all cases produced Fe(II)PEP and no intermediate was found. The oxidation reaction of Fe(II)PEP by O2- was one order of magnitude faster when compared to the reduction of Fe(III)PFP by the same radical. Since the reactivity of O2- toward the three iron (III) porphyrin complexes follows their reduction potentials, it is suggesting the formation of a peroxo Fe(II) porphyrin as an intermediate. The reactions of the Fe(II)PFP complexes with dioxygen were also studied. The aquo complex was found to be first order in O2 and second order in Fe(II)PFP, suggesting the formation of a peroxo Fe(II) porphyrin as an intermediate. The intermediate formation was corroborated by evidence of the rapid CO binding reaction to the aquo complex of Fe(II)PFP. The two other complexes reacted very slowly with O2 as well as with CO.     

Metal complexes of the schiff bases 2-pyridinylhydrazine and 2-quinolinyl-hydrazine with 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde N-oxide,including some N-oxide-bridged antiferromagnetic complexes of cobalt(II) and nickel(II)

Metal complexes of 2-pyridine carboxaldehyde 2′-pyridinylhydrazone 1-oxide (poph) and 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde 2′-quinolinylhydrazone 1-oxide (poqh) are reported with copper(II), nickel(II), cobalt(II), iron(II) and manganese(II). Each ligand appears to function as an ONN donor, via the pyridine N-oxide oxygen, the imine nitrogen, and a pyridine or quinoline nitrogen. The complexes have been characterised by magnetic susceptibility measurements to liquid nitrogen temperature, and also by electronic, infrared, X-ray powder diffraction, and Mössbauer spectra. No magnetic interaction was detected with the copper(II) complexes. All the complexes of metal nitrates appear to be monomers.The complexes of poph with the halides and thiocyanates of nickel(II) and cobalt(II) appear to be six-coordinate and N-oxide-bridged; they exhibit varying degress of antiferromagnetic interaction and the magnetic data for the nickel(II) complexes have been fitted to various models. In contrast, the bulky ligand poqh produces halide-bridged six-coordinate nickel(II) complexes and monomeric five-coordinate cobalt(II) complexes.This behaviour by poqh resembles that of the related NNN ligands paphy and paqhy, which are the Schiff bases of 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde with 2-pyridinylhydrazine and 2-quinolinylhydrazine, respectively.     

Nickel(II) binding to glycylglycyl-L-tyrosine-N-methyl amide, a peptide mimicking the NH2-terminal nickel(II)-binding site of dog serum albumin: a 1H- and 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance investigation

The nonspecificity of dog serum albumin (DSA) for Ni(II) is mimicked by the simplest tripeptide, glycylglycyl-L-tyrosine-N-methyl amide, which forms a planar complex at high pH. In this study, the 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (nmr) spectra of the free and complexed peptide are reported. As the pH is increased for the free peptide, the deprotonation of the terminal amino group (pKa = 7.94) is reflected most strongly by the chemical shift changes of the NH2-terminal -CH2CO- unit. Large upfield and downfield shifts for the tyrosine C xi, C epsilon and C gamma carbon resonances occur on the ionization of the phenolic hydroxyl group. The planar Ni(II) complex is in slow exchange on the nmr time scale and is of 1:1 stoichiometry. The greater chemical shift changes on Ni(II) coordination are observed from the protons nearest the peptide and amino nitrogens:amide CH3 (-0.704), Tyr(3) alpha-CH (-0.667), Gly(1) alpha-CH2 (-0.382), and Gly(2) alpha-CH2 (-0.519, -0.487). In the 13C spectrum, the Gly(1) C alpha (+7.58) is most affected. The Ni(II) ion is therefore at the center of four coordinating nitrogens. Changes in the coupling constants for the Tyr(3) -CH-CH2- moiety suggests a mainly gauche conformation with the tyrosyl ring positioned above the plane of coordination and a weak bonding interaction with the Ni(II) ion is indicated. These results provide structural information regarding the reduced affinity of DSA for Ni(II).     

The importance of extended conformations and,in particular,the PII conformation for the molecular recognition of peptides

Crystallographic, isotopic labeling nmr and transferred nuclear Overhauser effect studies have highlighted the extended conformation as a very important element of secondary structure at the binding site of many peptide/protein complexes including peptide inhibitors–enzymes, B-cell epitopes–antibodies, and T-cell epitopes–major histocompatibility complex (MHC) of class I and II complexes. This paper discusses the peptide ligand conformation consequences of these findings particularly in view of the identification of the P_II conformation (left-handed extended polyproline II) in free solution. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Solid-state and proton NMR characterization of an iron(II) complex of a tridentate, facially coordinating N,N,O donor ligand

Despite the many enzymes that use 2-His-1-carboxylate facial triads to bind iron(II), there are few crystallographically characterized synthetic iron(II) complexes of tridentate ligands that bind through two imidazoles and one carboxylate. We report ¹H NMR characterization of the equilibrium between one such ligand and aqueous Fe²⁺. The formation of 1:1 and 2:1 complexes is evident, but the 1:1 complex is never the exclusive compound in solution. This behavior has not been reported previously for N,N,O ligand-iron(II) complexes. The 2:1 ligand/iron complex crystallizes from solution, and it has been completely characterized including an X-ray crystal structure.     

Assignment of heme resonances and determination of the electronic structures of high- and low-spin nitrophorin 2 by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy: an explanation of the order of heme methyl resonances in high-spin ferriheme proteins

The (1)H NMR resonances of the heme substituents of the low-spin Fe(III) form of nitrophorin 2, as its complexes with N-methylimidazole (NP2-NMeIm) and imidazole (NP2-ImH), have been assigned by a combination of (1)H homonuclear two-dimensional NMR techniques and (1)H-(13)C HMQC. Complete assignment of the proton and partial assignment of the (13)C resonances of the heme of these complexes has been achieved. Due to favorable rates of ligand exchange, it was also possible to assign part of the (1)H resonances of the high-spin heme via saturation transfer between high- and low-spin protein forms in a partially liganded NP2-NMeIm sample; additional resonances (vinyl and propionate) were assigned by NOESY techniques. The order of heme methyl resonances in the high-spin form of the protein over the temperature range of 10-37 degrees C is 8 = 5 > 1 > 3; the NMeIm complex has 5 > 1 > 3 > 8 as the order of heme methyl resonances at <30 degrees C, while above that temperature, the order is 5 > 3 > 1 > 8, due to crossover of the closely spaced 3- and 1-methyl resonances of the low-spin complex at higher temperatures. This crossover defines the nodal plane of the heme orbital used for spin delocalization as being oriented 162 +/- 2 degrees clockwise from the heme N(II)-Fe-N(IV) axis for the heme in the B orientation. For the NP2-ImH complex, the order of heme methyl resonances is 3 > 5 > 1 > 8, which defines the orientation of the nodal plane of the heme orbital used for spin delocalization as being oriented approximately 150-155 degrees clockwise from the heme N(II)-Fe-N(IV) axis. In both low-spin complexes, the results are most consistent with the exogenous planar ligand controlling the orientation of the nodal plane of the heme orbital. In the high-spin form of NP2, the proximal histidine plane is shown to be oriented 135 degrees clockwise from the heme N(II)-Fe-N(IV) axis, again for the B heme orientation. A correlation between the order of heme methyl resonances in the high-spin form of NP2 and several other ferriheme proteins and an apparent 90 degrees shift in the nodal plane of the orbital involved in spin delocalization from that expected on the basis of the orientation of the axial histidine imidazole nodal plane have been explained in terms of bonding interactions between Fe(III), the axial histidine imidazole nitrogen, and the porphyrin pi orbitals of the high-spin protein.     

Cyclic metal-radical complexes based on 2-[4-(1-imidazole)phenyl]-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide: Syntheses, crystal structures and magnetic properties

Using new nitronyl nitroxide radical ligand 2-[4-(1-imidazole)phenyl]-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (NITPhIm), three new complexes [M(hfac)₂(NITPhIm)]₂ (M = Cu(II) 1, Mn(II) 2, Co(II) 3; hfac = hexafluoroacetylacetonate) have been prepared. Three complexes possess cyclic dimer structure in which each NITPhIm radical links two different metal ions through the oxygen of nitroxide group and the nitrogen of imidazole. The magnetic studies show the copper(II) ion interacts ferromagnetically with the directly bonding nitronyl nitroxide while manganese(II) and cobalt(II) ions strong antiferromagnetically interact with the directly coordinated nitroxide groups. There is a weak antiferromagnetic coupling between the metal ion and the nitroxide through phenyl and imidazole rings of the radical ligand, which is agreement with spin polarization mechanism. The results show that the minor changes in the structure of radical ligand can change the magnetic behavior of radical-metal complex.