The preparation of metal hybrid species of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase is made possible by the development of carefully delineated systems of metal in equilibrium metal exchange employing equilibrium dialysis. The conditions which are optimal for the site-specific replacement of the catalytic and/or noncatalytic zinc atoms of the native enzyme by cobalt are not identical with those which are utilized for substitution with 65Zn. Thus, while certain 65Zn hybrids can be prepared by exploiting the differential effects of buffer anions, the cobalt hybrids are generated by critical adjustments in the pH of the dialysate. Factors which may determine the mechanism of metal replacement reactions include acid-assisted, ligand-assisted, and metal-assisted dechelation, steric restriction, and ligand denticity as well as physicochemical properties of the enzyme itself. The spectral characteristics of the catalytic and noncatalytic cobalt atoms reflect both the geometry of the coordination complexes and the nature of the ligands and serve as sensitive probes of these loci in the enzyme.