One and Two Dimensional Pulsed Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Studies of in vivo Vanadyl Coordination in Rat Kidney

The biological fate of a chelated vanadium source is investigated by/n vivo spectroscopic methods to elucidate the chemical form in which the metal ion is accumulated. A pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance study of vanadyl ions in kidney tissue, taken from rats previously treated with bis(ethylmaltolato)oxovanadium(IV) (BEOV) in drinking water, is presented. A combined approach using stimulated echo (3-pulse) electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) and the two dimensional 4-pulse hyperfine sublevel correlation (HYSCORE) spectroscopies has shown that at least some of the VO²⁺ ions are involved in the coordination with nitrogen-containing ligands. From the experimental spectra, a 4N hyperfine coupling constant of 4.9 MHz and a quadrupole coupling constant of 0.6 + 0.04 MHz were determined, consistent with amine coordination of the vanadyl ions. Study of VO-histidine model complexes allowed for a determination of the percentage of nitrogen-coordinated VO²⁺ ions in the tissue sample that is found nitrogen-coordinated. By taking into account the bidentate nature of histidine coordination to VO²⁺ ions, a more accurate determination of this value is reported. The biological fate of chelated versus free (i.e. salts) vanadyl ion sources has been deduced by comparison to earlier reports. In contrast to its superior pharmacological efficacy over VOSO4, BEOV shares a remarkably similar biological fate after uptake into kidney tissue.