1. The stability constants (K,) of Mn2+ and Mg2+ complexes of isocitrate, 2-oxoglutarate, NADP and NADPH have been estimated by using electron spin resonance to measure free Mn2+ in ligand -metal-ion solutions.2. The values of K, for the Mn2+ complexes at 25 "C, in triethanolamine buffer containing NaCl, pH 7.0 and ionic strength 0.15 M, are 497 M-l for isocitrate, 39 M-' for 2-oxoglutarate, 467 M-' for NADP and 943 M-' for NADPH.3. For the Mg2+ complexes under the same conditions, the Ks values are 357 M-', 25 M-', 133 M-' and 179 M-' respectively. The large difference between the stabilities of the isocitrate and 2-oxoglutarate complexes is thus largely responsible for the observed variation of the apparent equilibrium constant of the NADP-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase reaction with magnesium ion concentration.4. NADP-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase from bovine heart mitochondria binds Mn2 +, and the stability constant of the complex is about 2.2 x lo4 M-'. The formation of this complex may explain the inhibition of the enzyme-catalysed reaction observed with Mn2+ concentrations greater than 0.2 mM in initial rate measurements.Knowledge of the concentrations of ligand-metal complexes in multicomponent enzyme reaction mixtures is of vital importance in studies of the kinetic mechanism of many enzymes. There is evidence that NADP-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase from beef and pig heart mitochondria employs the Mg2+ or Mn2+ complex of isocitrate as preferential substrate [1 -31. However, it is known that the other substrates of this enzyme (NADP, NADPH and 2-oxoglutarate) also bind divalent cations, and the possibility of influence on the reaction rate by metal complexes of NADPH has been suggested [4]. The Mg2+ concentration dependence of the overall equilibrium constant of the reaction catalysed by NADP-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase was shown by Londesborough and Dalziel [5] and used to calculate tentative stability constants for the complexes of isocitrate and 2-0x0- glutarate. The same workers [2,6] later estimated the stability constant of the former complex directly. The aim in the present work was to estimate the stability constants of the Mn2+ and Mg2+ complexes of all four substrates of the enzyme by the same method and under the same conditions, namely in 0.05 M triethanolamine hydrochloride/NaOH buffer pH 7.0, containing 0.1 M NaCl, a medium used in earlier studies of the enzyme [7]. There seem to be no previous reports of the stability constants for the Mg2+ complex of NADPH and the Mn2 + complex of 2-0x0-glutarate, and published values for the stability constants of the other complexes were obtained under diverse conditions.Electron spin resonance is a particularly useful method for direct measurement of some paramagnetic metal ions, such as Mn2+ [8], and was used in the present study. Mg2+ binding was evaluated by competition with Mn", assuming the competition to be purely competitive.