In hemoproteins, the reactivity of the iron atom can be controlled by the surrounding environment provided by the protein, which anchors the heme cofactor by binding to the porphyrin, and in most ...

A porphyrin is a dye-type molecule, like the iron porphyrin that binds molecular oxygen in the heme protein of red blood cells, or the chlorophyll that promotes photosynthesis in green plant cells. In ...