Cobalt porphyrins, organic derivatives

The second structural type found for organometallic cobalt porphyrins contains an organic fragment bridged between the cobalt and one pyrrolic nitrogen. Cobalt complexes of N-alkyl- or N-arylporphyrins arc well established (but will not be specifically addressed here). The bridged complexes are derivatives of these where the N-alkyl group also forms a cr-bond to cobalt. They are also related to the axially... 

Vitamin B12 consists of a porphyrin-like ring with a central cobalt atom attached to a nucleotide. Various organic groups may be covalently bound to the cobalt atom, forming different cobalamins. Deoxyadenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin are the active forms of the vitamin in humans. Cyanocobalamin and hydroxocobalamin (both available for therapeutic use) and other cobalamins found in food sources are converted to the active forms. The ultimate source of vitamin Bi2 is from microbial synthesis the vitamin is not synthesized by animals or plants. The chief dietary source of vitamin Bi2 is microbially derived vitamin B12 in meat (especially liver), eggs, and dairy products. Vitamin Bi2 is sometimes called extrinsic factor to differentiate it from intrinsic factor, a protein normally secreted by the stomach that is required for gastrointestinal uptake of dietary vitamin B12. 

Organocobalt porphyrin complexes have also yielded useful mechanistic information. The reactions of (tetrakis(p-methoxyphenyl)porphyrinato)cobalt(II) ((TAP)Co(II)) with radicals derived from dialkylazo thermal initiators with acrylic monomers provide evidence for the intermediacy of Co(III)-H species in CCTP. Reaction of (TAP)Co (II) with tertiary alkyl radicals, for example, as derived from AIBN in the presence of monomers that form stable Co-alkyl complexes, such as methyl acrylate, results in quantitative formation of Co(III)-alkyl. Whereas with monomers leading to tertiary C-Co bonds, such as MMA, the Co (II) is very much a spectator as normal polymerization ensues. Thermodynamic and activation parameters have been measured for the dissociation of (TAP)Co(III)-C(CH3)2CN to Co(II) and organic radical in solution as a probe into CCTP mechanism by low-spin Co(II). ... 

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