Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The average red blood cell contains 250 million hemoglobin molecules. [7] Hemoglobin contains a globin protein unit with four prosthetic heme groups (hence the name heme-o-globin); each heme is capable of reversibly binding with one gaseous molecule (oxygen, carbon monoxide, cyanide, etc.), [8] therefore a typical red blood cell may carry up to one billion gas molecules.
The harmful effects of carbon monoxide are generally considered to be due to tightly binding with the prosthetic heme moiety of hemoproteins that results in interference with cellular operations, for example: carbon monoxide binds with hemoglobin to form carboxyhemoglobin which affects gas exchange and cellular respiration.
Hemoglobin binds with carbon monoxide 210 times more readily than with oxygen. [4] Because of this higher affinity of hemoglobin for carbon monoxide than for oxygen, carbon monoxide is a highly successful competitor that will displace oxygen even at minuscule partial pressures.
Hemoglobin's binding affinity for CO is 250 times greater than its affinity for oxygen, [69] [70] Since carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas, and poses a potentially fatal threat, carbon monoxide detectors have become commercially available to warn of dangerous levels in residences.
Infobox references. Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simplest carbon oxide.
Carbon monoxide could technically be called a blood agent because it binds with oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in the blood (see carbon monoxide poisoning), but its high volatility makes it impractical as a chemical warfare agent. [6]
For example, the ability of hemoglobin to effectively deliver oxygen to tissues is due to specific amino acid residues located near the heme molecule. [13] Hemoglobin reversibly binds to oxygen in the lungs when the pH is high, and the carbon dioxide concentration is low. When the situation is reversed (low pH and high carbon dioxide ...
Heme oxygenase (alternatively spelled using haem or oxidase) catalyzes the degradation of heme to biliverdin / bilirubin, ferrous ion, and carbon monoxide. The human genome may encode three isoforms of HMOX. The degradation of heme forms three distinct chromogens as seen in healing cycle of a bruise. This reaction can occur in virtually every ...