Nature of Iron Deposits on the Cardiac Walls in β-Thalassemia by Mössbauer Spectroscopy

Author Info

K. S. Kaufman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
G. C. Papaefthymiou, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Richard B. Frankel, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyFollow
A. Rosenthal, Children's Hospital, Boston - Massachusetts

Recommended Citation

Postprint version. Published in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects, Volume 629, Issue 3, May 22, 1980, pages 522-529.

NOTE: At the time of publication, the author Richard B. Frankel was not yet affiliated with Cal Poly.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4165(80)90157-9.

Abstract

An identification of the nature and an estimation of the particle size distribution of the iron deposits on thalassemic heart tissue is carried out by variable temperature Mössbauer spectroscopy. Comparison of Mössbauer spectra obtained for the thalassemic heart tissue (I) with those of normal heart tissue (II) and of horse spleen ferritin (III) identifies the iron deposits to be small, superparamagnetic particles of ferritin and/or hemosiderin, two closely related iron storage proteins containing an iron core of (FeOOH)₈(FeO · OPO₃H₂). The dependence of the superparamagnetic relaxation time, τ₂, of magnetically ordered fine particles on their volume V via the magnetic anisotropy constant K of the material and the condition τ > τ_L, the Larmor precession time of the nuclear magnetic moment of ⁵⁷Fe about an effective magnetic field, for observation of hyperfine structure are used in analyzing the Mössbauer data to yield the particle size distribution. Particle diameters are estimated to be 74 ± 12 Å.

Disciplines

Physics

Copyright

1980 Elsevier.