The interaction of vanadate with the ligand 1,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-4-pyridinone (Hdmpp) was studied in aqueous solution using a combination of multinuclear NMR and EPR spectroscopies, as well as potentiometry and cyclic voltammetry. The different species in solution were identified and characterized, and their pK a values and stability constants determined. The vanadium complexes formed in solution are strongly dependent on media composition (ionic strength, presence of buffer), pH and metal-to-ligand ratio (M:L). Two major species -V(V)/dmpp and V(V)/(dmpp) 2 -are formed in a 140 mM NaCl solution within the pH range 4.5 to 9.0, when M:Ls1:2. In the presence of excess ligand (M:LF1:5), only the 1:2 complex is present, and at pH-4 paramagnetic species are detected by EPR in solution, thus indicating a reducing capacity of the ligand. Cyclic voltammetry shows that redox processes in solution are not just electron transfer, but are accompanied by chemical reactions. The pK a values and stability constants were determined both by 51 V NMR spectroscopy and potentiometry. The present results have a particular interest in the understanding of the aqueous solution chemistry in aerobic conditions of bis(1,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-4-pyridinonato) oxovanadium(IV) complex, VO(dmpp) 2 , a vanadium compound with potential insulin-mimetic properties. q2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.