Lead(II) complex formation with glutathione.

A structural investigation of complexes formed between the Pb(2+) ion and glutathione (GSH, denoted AH(3) in its triprotonated form), the most abundant nonprotein thiol in biological systems, was carried out for a series of aqueous solutions at pH 8.5 and C(Pb(2+)) = 10 mM and in the solid state. The Pb L(III)-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) oscillation for a solid compound with the empirical formula [Pb(AH(2))]ClO(4) was modeled with one Pb-S and two short Pb-O bond distances at 2.64 ± 0.04 and 2.28 ± 0.04 Å, respectively. In addition, Pb···Pb interactions at 4.15 ± 0.05 Å indicate dimeric species in a network where the thiolate group forms an asymmetrical bridge between two Pb(2+) ions. In aqueous solution at the mole ratio GSH/Pb(II) = 2.0 (C(Pb(2+)) = 10 mM, pH 8.5), lead(II) complexes with two thiolate ligands form, characterized by a ligand-to-metal charge-transfer band (LMCT) S(-) → Pb(2+) at 317 nm in the UV-vis spectrum and mean Pb-S and Pb-(N/O) bond distances of 2.65 ± 0.04 and 2.51 ± 0.04 Å, respectively, from a Pb L(III)-edge EXAFS spectrum. For solutions with higher mole ratios, GSH/Pb(II) ≥ 3.0, electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy spectra identified a triglutathionyllead(II) complex, for which Pb L(III)-edge EXAFS spectroscopy shows a mean Pb-S distance of 2.65 ± 0.04 Å in PbS(3) coordination, (207)Pb NMR spectroscopy displays a chemical shift of 2793 ppm, and in the UV-vis spectrum, an S(-) → Pb(2+) LMCT band appears at 335 nm. The complex persists at high excess of GSH and also at ∼25 K in frozen glycerol (33%)/water glasses for GSH/Pb(II) mole ratios from 4.0 to 10 (C(Pb(2+)) = 10 mM) measured by Pb L(III)-edge EXAFS spectroscopy.