Corrin is a

heterocyclic compound A heterocyclic compound or ring structure is a cyclic compound that has atoms of at least two different elements as members of its ring(s). Heterocyclic chemistry is the branch of organic chemistry dealing with the synthesis, properties, and ...

. It is the parent macrocycle related to the

substituted A substitution reaction (also known as single displacement reaction or single substitution reaction) is a chemical reaction during which one functional group in a chemical compound is replaced by another functional group. Substitution reactions ar ...

derivative that is found in vitamin B₁₂. Its name reflects that it is the "core" of vitamin B₁₂ ( cobalamins).Nelson, D. L.; Cox, M. M. "Lehninger, Principles of Biochemistry" 3rd Ed. Worth Publishing: New York, 2000. . There are two

chiral centre In stereochemistry, a stereocenter of a molecule is an atom (center), axis or plane that is the focus of stereoisomerism; that is, when having at least three different groups bound to the stereocenter, interchanging any two different groups cr ...

s, which in natural compounds like cobalamin have the same

stereochemistry Stereochemistry, a subdiscipline of chemistry, involves the study of the relative spatial arrangement of atoms that form the structure of molecules and their manipulation. The study of stereochemistry focuses on the relationships between stereois ...

Coordination chemistry

Upon deprotonation, the corrinoid ring is capable of binding cobalt. In vitamin B₁₂, the resulting complex also features a benzimidazole-derived ligand, and the sixth site on the octahedron serves as the catalytic center. The corrin ring resembles the porphyrin ring, which occurs in hemoglobin. Both feature four

pyrrole Pyrrole is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound, a five-membered ring with the formula C4 H4 NH. It is a colorless volatile liquid that darkens readily upon exposure to air. Substituted derivatives are also called pyrroles, e.g., ''N''-meth ...

-like subunits organized into a ring with a largely conjugated structure of alternating double and single bonds. In contrast to porphyrins, corrins lack one of the carbon groups that link the pyrrole-like units into a fully conjugated structure. With a conjugated system that extends only 3/4 of the way around the ring, and does not include any of the outer edge carbons, corrins have a number of non-conjugated sp³ carbons, making them more flexible than porphyrins and not as flat. A third closely related biological structure, the chlorin ring system found in

chlorophyll Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words , ("pale green") and , ("leaf"). Chlorophyll allow plants to a ...

, is intermediate between porphyrin and corrin, having 20 carbons like the porphyrins and a conjugated structure extending all the way around the central atom, but with only 6 of the 8 edge carbons participating. Corroles (octadehydrocorrins) are fully aromatic derivatives of corrins.

References

{{Tetrapyrroles Biomolecules Tetrapyrroles Metabolism Macrocycles Schiff bases