Ultrasonic Studies of Proton-Exchange Reaction Between Hydrogen Phosphate Ions and Imidazole

Ultrasonic relaxation measurements for imidazole and its derivative in phosphate buffer exhibit a high peak of absorption at neutral pH. Near neutral pH, protolysis and hydrosis may be neglected and the essential reaction only consists of a direct proton-exchange. The kinetics constants and the volume changes for the proton transfer reaction with the protonated imidazole and 2-methylimidazole have been determined at 25℃. The kinetics constants are 7.2×108s-1M-1for imidazole and 1.7×108s-1M-1 for 2-methylimidazole. The kinetics constants are used to estimate the spectrum of relaxation times and acoustic relaxation amplitude associated with intermolecular and intramolecular proton-exchange reactions in bilogical media. It is concluded that the magnitude of the acoustic absorption reasonalbly attributable to the perturbation of proton-transfer equilibria between imidazole and inorganic phosphate is comparable in magnitude with the acoustic absorption observed in some intact tissues.