The kinetics and mechanism of iron (III) exchange between chelates and transferrin: I. The complexes of citrate and nitrilotriacetic acid

GW Bates, C Billups, P Saltman - Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1967 - ASBMB
The rate at which iron (III) is transferred from various chelating agents to the metal-binding
sites in human transferrin is a function of the chemical nature of the complexing agent.
Although equilibrium concentrations are related to the magnitude of the relative stability
constants, the kinetics of transfer appears to be regulated by steric factors. The time required
for equimolar concentrations of three typical chelates to half-saturate the sites is
nitrilotriacetate, 3 sec; citrate, 8 hours; ethylenediaminetetraacetate, about 4 days. The …