Bromoperoxidase from Ascophyllum nodusum was the first vanadium-containing enzyme to be isolated. X-ray absorption spectra have now been collected in order to investigate the coordination of vanadium in the native, native plus bromide, native plus hydrogen peroxide, and dithionite-reduced forms of the enzyme. The edge and X-ray absorption near-edge structures show that, in the four samples studied, it is only on reduction of the native enzyme that the metal site is substantially altered. In addition, these data are consistent with the presence of vanadium(IV) in the reduced enzyme and vanadium(V) in the other samples. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure data confirm that there are structural changes at the metal site on reduction of the native enzyme, notably a lengthening of the average inner-shell distance, and the presence of terminal oxygen together with histidine and oxygen-donating residues.

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Iron K-edge X-ray absorption data for the iron-molybdenum cofactor ('FeMoco') from Klebsiella pneumoniae reported here provide the first evidence for long-range structural order in the cofactor [Fe...Fe(Mo) = 0.368 nm in addition to Fe...S = 0.22 nm and Fe...Fe(Mo) = 0.27 nm] and, in contrast with previously published data [Antonio, Teo, Orme-Johnson, Nelson, Groh, Lindahl, Kauzlarich & Averill (1982) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 104, 4703-4705], indicate that most of the iron centres are not co-ordinated to light (oxygen, nitrogen) atoms. This demonstrates that presently available chemical models for FeMoco are inadequate.

upon Tyne NET 7RU, UK [VO(1 -vinylimidaz~le)~Cl]Cl is prepared and spectroscopically characterized and structural information obtained from vanadium K-edge EXAFS used to solve a disorder problem encountered in the refinement of the crystal structure; oxovanadium(iv) bound to imidazole groups has relevance to the possible biochemical functions of vanadium.