Iron binding to transferrin and lactoferrin requires a synergistic anion, which is carbonate in vivo. The anion is thought to play a key role in iron binding and release. To understand better the iron-carbonate interaction, experiments were performed with iron(III) and copper(II) complexes of human milk lactoferrin and serum transferrin with carbon-13-labeled carbonate. Modulation frequencies were present in the Fourier transforms of two-pulse and three-pulse electron spin echo envelope modulation data for the Fe(III) and Cu(II) complexes, consistent with binding of carbonate to both metals. The metal-13C interaction was similar for the lactoferrin and transferrin complexes. Spin coupling to the nitrogen of a coordinated histidine imidazole was observed for both metals. Both the metal-nitrogen and the metal-carbon spin coupling constants were about a factor of 5 smaller for the iron complexes than for the copper complexes, which indicated substantial similarity in the metal-carbonate and metal-imidazole binding for the two metals.