Abstract—Some Chromium (III) complexes were synthesized with three amino acids: L Glutamic Acid, Glycine, and L-cysteine as the ligands, in order to provide a new supplement containing Cr(III) for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The complexes have been prepared by refluxing a mixture of Chromium(III) chloride in aqueous solution with L-glutamic acid, Glycine, and L-cysteine after pH adjustment by sodium hydroxide. These complexes were characterized by Infrared and Uv-Vis spectrophotometer and Elemental analyzer. The product yields of four products were 87.50 and 56.76% for Cr-Glu complexes, 46.70% for Cr-Gly complex and 40.08% for Cr-Cys complex respectively. The predicted structure of the complexes are [Cr(glu) 2 (H 2 O) 2 ].xH 2 O, Cr(gly) 3. .xH 2 O and Cr(cys) 3. xH 2 O . , respectively. Keywords—Cr(III), L-Cysteine L-glutamic Acid, Glycine, complexation. I. INTRODUCTION HROMIUM(III) is a trace mineral which is needed as supplement in management of diabetes mellitus. It has an important role in glucose metabolism. Biological function of chromium is not fully known yet. The diabetes relevant interaction of Cr (III) is with the hormone insulin and its receptors. This suggests that Cr (III) acts with insulin on the first step in the metabolism of sugar entry into the cell, and facilitates the interaction of insulin with its receptor and the cell surface [1], [2]. Chromium increases insulin binding to cells, insulin receptor number and activates insulin receptor kinase leading to increased insulin sensitivity [3]. The most popular chromium supplement is Chromium picolinate, Cr(pic) 3 , a relatively well absorbed form of chromium (III). The disadvantage of Cr(pic) 3 is the effect of this compound in DNA damage[4]. Comparative studies of chromium(III) picolinate and niacin-bound chromium(III), two popular dietary supplements, reveal that chromium(III) picolinate produces significantly more oxidative stress and Kun Sri Budiasih is with the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia (e-mail:ks_budiasih@yahoo.co.uk). Chairil Anwar is with the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (e-mail: irilwar@yahoo.com). Sri Juari Santosa is with the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (e-mail:sjuari@yahoo.com). Hilda Ismailis with the Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (e-mail: Hld_ismail@yahoo.com). DNA damage. Administration of the supplement to rats has demonstrated for the first time that it can give rise to oxidative DNA damage in whole animals [5]. The search for compounds with novel properties to deal with the disease condition is still in progress. Another form of Cr(III) supplement is Chromium ascorbate complex [6].There is a direct relationship between the charge of the Cr(III) species and their reactivity with DNA. The positively-charged complexes displayed ultimate DNA- breaking properties, while the neutral and negatively-charged complexes were almost inert. Yang [7] proposed D- phenylalanine, an amino acid, as a novel ligand for Chromium (III) complex. The product was Cr(pa) 3 . Unlike chromium picolinate, Cr(pa) 3 does not cleave DNA under physiological conditions. Some amino acids with Cr(III) have been reported as a part of GTF (Glucose Tolerance Factor), a molecule, that is, involved in the function of insulin in the processing of glucose into energy. It is an oligopeptide of molecular weight about 1438, and composed of glycine, cysteine, aspartate and glutamate with the acidic amino acid comprising more than half. One mole of this compound binds four molecule of Cr(III) very tightly. This manifests as the hormonal action of insulin. Natural GTF is a fraction isolated from brewer’s yeast which plays a biological activity in glucose metabolism [8]. The similar study also published that a solution which contains chromium (III), glycine, glutamic acid and cystein mimics the biological activity of the naturally occurring GTF [9]. Another study reported the relationship between chromium(III) -amino acids complexes with GTF activity using a yeast assay[10]. Unfortunately, the research on the synthesis of chromium complexes with amino acids is not well developed. Some problems found from these research on this topic. Several works in this topic reported rarely from the 70’s to90's and did not be continued and did not related to one another. The subsequent report appeared in the 2000s. One of the commonly cited for the synthesis of complexes of Chromium with amino acid ligands is the procedure of Bryan [11]. However, Wallace [12] reported that the synthesis methods are not reproducible. Many trials are needed to get a consistent product from a particular procedure. Some works also reported different products from the same raw materials. The reasons are due to differences in the reaction conditions [13], the possibility of many products [14]- [16] and formation of geometric isomers [17]. The difficulties Synthesis and Characterization of Chromium (III) Complexes with L-Glutamic Acid, Glycine and L- Cysteine Kun Sri Budiasih, Chairil Anwar, Sri Juari Santosa, and Hilda Ismail C World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology 78 2013 1905