Solution, crystal and in silico structures of the organometallic vitamin B₁₂-derivative acetylcobalamin and of its novel rhodium-analogue acetylrhodibalamin

The natural vitamin B₁₂-derivatives are intriguing complexes of cobalt that entrap the metal within the strikingly skewed and ring-contracted corrin ligand. Here, we describe the synthesis of the Rh(III)-corrin acetylrhodibalamin (AcRhbl) from biotechnologically produced metal-free hydrogenobyric acid and analyze the effect of the replacement of the cobalt-center of the organometallic vitamin B₁₂-derivative acetylcobalamin (AcCbl) with its group-IX homologue rhodium, to give AcRhbl. The structures of AcCbl and AcRhbl were thoroughly analyzed in aqueous solution, in crystals and by in silico methods, in order to gain detailed insights into the structural adaptations to the two homologous metals. Indeed, the common, nucleotide-appended corrin-ligand in these two metal corrins features extensive structural similarity. Thus, the rhodium-corrin AcRhbl joins the small group of B₁₂-mimics classified as ‘antivitamins B₁₂’, isostructural metal analogues of the natural cobalt-corrins that hold significant potential in biological and biomedical applications as selective inhibitors of key cellular processes.