Biological important of coordination compounds:
(i) A red blood corpuscles (RBC) is composed of heme group, which is Fe2+ – Porphyrin complex, it plays an important role in carrying oxygen from lungs to tissues and carbon dioxide from tissues to lungs.
(ii) Chlorophyll, a green pigment present in green plants and algae, is a coordination complex containing Mg2+ as central metal ion surrounded by a modified Porphyrin ligand called corrin ring. It plays an important role in photosynthesis, by which plants converts CO2 and water into carbohydrates and oxygen.
(iii) Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamine) is the only vitamin consist of metal ion. it is a coordination complex in which the central metal ion is CO+ surrounded by Porphyrin like ligand.
(iv) Many enzymes are known to be metal complexes, they regulate biological processes. For example, Carboxypeptidase is a protease enzyme that hydrolytic enzyme important in digestion, contains a zinc ion coordinated to the protein.
