My textbook had a question about the affinity of oxygen when CO increases, and the answer says that the affinity of O2 to hemoglobin *increases* when CO concentration increases. Can someone explain this to me? CO binds 250x better than O2, and competes with O2... so this makes no sense to me. Thanks! :)

Question

anonymous · Answer

Remember one thing that lower the concentration of something the more affinity there will be.

anonymous · Answer

Ahh, okay. Thank you. Do you know why that is? The only way I can really understand biochemistry is from the chemistry side of things... Le Chatelier's, possibly?

anonymous · Answer

Its just a simple matter of concentration and diffusion.Complicating things makes it really complicated.

anonymous · Answer

What the name of your textbook anyway?

anonymous · Answer

Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry, 5th edition. I'm a chemistry major, not a bio major, so I over think a lot of these things and get myself all kinds of confused. xD

anonymous · Answer

Oh!Anyway keep it up.