First aminoacetone chelate: [Co(tren){NH2CH2C(O)CH3}]3+-a substrate binding and activation model for zinc(II)-dependent 5-aminolaevulinic acid dehydratase.

The complex p-[Co(tren){NH(2)CH(2)C(O)CH(3)}](ClO(4))(3).H(2)O was produced stereoselectively from [Co(tren)(O(3)SCF(3))(2)]O(3)SCF(3) () and 2-(aminomethyl)-2-methyl-1,3-dioxolane. The structure of was determined by X-ray crystallography. The complex is the first aminoacetone chelate to be reported and the first structurally characterized example of a non-conjugated ketone moiety coordinated to cobalt(iii). The robust complex was stable to aquation in strong acid and behaved as an acid with pK(a) = 4.99(1) indicative of a strong activation of the aminoacetone ligand towards deprotonation. The complex constitutes a structural model for a proposed substrate binding mode relevant for substrate activation of the zinc(ii)-dependent enzyme 5-aminolaevulinic acid dehydratase.