The millisecond intermediate in the reaction of nitric oxide with oxymyoglobin is an iron(III)--nitrato complex, not a peroxynitrite.

The dioxygenation of nitric oxide by oxyheme in globin proteins is a major route for NO detoxification in aerobic biological systems. In myoglobin, this reaction is thought to proceed through an iron(III)-bound peroxynitrite before homolytic cleavage of the O-O bond to form an iron(IV)-oxo and NO(2) radical followed by recombination and nitrate production. Single turnover experiments at alkaline pH have revealed the presence of a millisecond high-spin heme intermediate. It is widely presumed that this species is an iron(III)-peroxynitrite species, but detailed characterization of the intermediate is lacking. Using resonance Raman spectroscopy and rapid-freeze quench techniques, we identify the millisecond intermediate as an iron(III)-nitrato complex with a symmetric NO(2) stretch at 1282 cm(-1). Greater time resolution techniques will be required to detect the putative iron(III) peroxynitrite complex.