The paper examines Co(II)–amino acid–imidazole systems (where amino acid = l-α-amino acid: alanine, asparagine, histidine) which, when in aqueous solutions, activate and reversibly take up dioxygen, while maintaining the structural scheme of the heme group (imidazole as axial ligand and O2 uptake at the sixth, trans position) thus imitating natural respiratory pigments such as myoglobin and hemoglobin. | Reversible uptake of molecular oxygen by heteroligand Co II l-α-amino acid imidazole systems Equilibrium models at full mass balance