Bio Question

[dentista123]

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Why does hemoglobin bind with greater affinity to CO than O2? Is it a chemistry thing? Is it easier to bind to CO because of the triple bond vs. double bond?

What does an increased affinity for CO do to the body? Is this the reason why carbon monoxide is so dangerous to us?

 

[bigstix808]

Why does hemoglobin bind with greater affinity to CO than O2? Is it a chemistry thing? Is it easier to bind to CO because of the triple bond vs. double bond?

What does an increased affinity for CO do to the body? Is this the reason why carbon monoxide is so dangerous to us?

dont worry about the chemistry behind why CO is more affinative than O2. what you do need to know is that CO's bond to Hb is so strong its practically irreversable and yes, that is why CO poisoning is such a big deal.

 

[dentista123]

Cool, thank you!

 

[nze82]

It has to do with the 3D conformation at the binding site of Hemoglobin (Don't worry about the details. If you must know, any biochem book that you pick up, should discuss this in great details). For the purpose of the DAT, just think of it like this:
The CO2 molecule fits more easily into the binding site of Hemoglobin compared to the O2 molecule.