The competitive equilibrium between aluminium and ferric ions for the binding sites of transferrin

Human transferrin is shown to bind 2 mol of aluminium per mol of protein using spectrophotometric titration. Competitive equilibrium between aluminium and ferric ions for transferrin binding sites is observed, and a value of 2.5 (+/- 0.4) X 10(15) M-1 is found for the apparent binding constant under physiological conditions.