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. 1974 Dec;143(3):775-7.
doi: 10.1042/bj1430775.

pH-controlled hydrogen-bonding

J L Wood

pH-controlled hydrogen-bonding

J L Wood. Biochem J. 1974 Dec.

Abstract

The pH-dependence of the degree of hydrogen-bonding between a base and its conjugate acid is considered. When only a small proportion of the total base is complexed, the amount complexed is proportional to (1+coshp)(-1) where p=2.303 (pK(a)-pH), pK(a) being the dissociation constant of the conjugate acid. This represents sharp pH-dependence. As the proportion complexed increases, the curve broadens, eventually becoming flat-topped, with more than half the base complexed over the range of pH values pK(a)+/-logKC, approximately. (K is the complex association constant and C is the formal base concentration, including all forms.) There are similarities to the extent of mono-protonation of a dibasic acid.

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References

    1. Biochem J. 1974 Mar;137(3):443-7 - PubMed
    1. Biochem J. 1973 Jan;131(1):149-54 - PubMed