Vitamin B-12 and its biologically active counterparts possess the only examples of carbon-cobalt bonds in living systems. The role of such motifs as radical reservoirs has potential application in future catalytic and electronic nanodevices. To fully understand radical generation in coenzyme B-12 (dAdoCbl)-dependent enzymes, however, major obstacles still need to be overcome. In this work, we have used Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) simulations, in a mixed quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) framework, to investigate the initial stages of the methylmalonyl-CoA-mutase-catalyzed reaction. We demonstrate that the 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical (dAdo(center dot)) exists as a distinct entity in this reaction, consistent with the results of extensive experimental and some previous theoretical studies. We report free energy calculations and first-principles trajectories enzymes catalyze coenzyme activation and control highly reactive radical intermediates. that help understand how B-12 enzymes catalyze coenzyme activation and control highly reactive radical intermediates.