The stability constants of the 1 :I complexes formed between Mg*+, Ca2+, Sr2+, BaZ+, Mn2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cu*+, (in part) Zn2+, or Cd2+ and (phosphony1methoxy)ethane (PME2-) or 9-[2-(phosphonylmethoxy)ethyl]adenine (PMEA2-) were determined by potentiometric pH titration in aqueous solution ( I = O .~M , NaNO,; 25'). The experimental conditions were carefully selected such that self-association of the adenine derivative PMEA and of its complexes was negligibly small; i.e., it was made certain that the properties of the monomeric [M(PMEA)] complexes were studied. Recent measurements with simple phosphate monoesters, R-MP'-(where R is a non-coordinating residue; S.S. Massoud, H. Sigel, Inorg. Chem. 1988, 27, 1447. were used to show that analogously simple phosphonates (R-PO:-) -~ we studied now the complexes of methyl phosphonate and ethyl phosphonate -fit on the same log K~(R-M,)/logK,M(R-,03) us. p K~( R~M p l / p K~( R -P O j l straight-line plots. With these reference lines, it could be demonstrated that for all the [M(PME)] complexes with the mentioned metal ions an increased complex stability is measured; i.e., a stability higher than that expected for a sole phosphonate coordination of the metal ion. This increased stability is attributed to the formation of five-membered chelates involving the ether oxygen present in the -O-CH,-PO:-residue of PME2-(and PMEA*-); the formation degree of the five-membered [M(PME)] chelates varies between ca. 15 and 40% for the alkaline earth ions and ca. 35 to 65 ?A for 3d ions and Zn*+ or Cd'+. Interestingly, for the [M(PMEA)] complexes within the error limits exactly the same observations are made indicating that the same live-membered cbelates arc formed, and that the adenine residue has no influence on the stability of these complexes, with the exception of those with Ni*+ and Cu2+. For these two metal ions, an additional stability increase is observed which has to be attributed to a metal ion-adenine interaction giving thus rise to equilibria between three different [M(PMEA)] isomers. These equilibria are analyzed, and for [Cu(PMEA)J it is calculated that 17(+3)% exist as an isomer with a sole Cu2+-phosphonate coordination, 34(+10)% form the mentioned five-membered chelate involving the ether oxygen, and the remaining 49(&10)% are due to an isomer containing also a Cu2+-adenine interaction. Based on various arguments, it is suggested that this latter isomer contains two chelate rings which result from a metal-ion coordination to the phosphonate group, the ether oxygen, and to N(3) of the adenine residue. For [Ni(PMEA)], the isomer with a Ni*+-adenine interaction is formed to only 22(+13)%; for [Cd(PMEA)] and the other [M(PMEA)] complexes if at all, only traces of such an isomer are occurring. In addition, the [M(PMEA)] complexes may be protonated leading to [M(H .PMEA)]+ species in which the proton is mainly at the phosphonate group, while the metal ion is bound in an adenosine-type fashion to the nucleic base residue. Finally, the properties of [M(PMEA)] and [M(AMP)] complex...