The studies of the dissociation of oxygen from the myoglobin analogs utilizing sodium dithionite were unsuccessful for several reasons.  The concentration of dithionite was not great enough for the reaction to be pseudo first order. The reaction occurs too fast at such concentrations. The lengthy reduction of the metal species by dithionite and the use of an open system lead to the production of numerous radicals and species in various oxidation states, resulting in complex kinetic behavior.