Francis Knowles*, Douglas Magde
O2-Equilibrium binding data of hemoglobin in whole blood under standard conditions was fitted to an equation of state comprised of three unknown quantities: Kα, the equilibrium constant for binding O2 by equivalent low affinity α-chains; KΔ, a dimensionless equilibrium constant describing the change between low-and high-affinity structures of hemoglobin, Tstate and Rstate; Kβ, the equilibrium constant for binding O2 by equivalent high affinity β-chains. Values of the unknown quantities at pH 7.4 and 37°C are: Kα=15,090 L/mol; KΔ=0.0260; Kβ=393,900 L/mol. A graph of predicted versus observed values of fractional saturation, F, is linear: FPRE=0.9998 FOBS=0.0005, R2=0.9997. The Perutz/Adair equation of state is defined as such insofar as all aspects of the stereo chemical are imposed on the earlier sequential binding model of Adair. The Perutz/Adair equation of state is general, describing: (i) the CO equilibrium binding curve of whole blood under standard conditions, Kα=4.27 × 106 L/mol, KΔ=0.05741, and Kβ=99.1 × 106 L/mol; (ii) the O2-equilibrium binding curve of purified hemoglobin in 0.100 M NaCl, 0.050 M BisTris, pH 7, 20°C, Kα=5.34 × 104 L/mol, KΔ=0.03252, and Kβ=1.81 × 106 L/mol.