A STUDY OF AN IRON DEXTRAN COMPLEX BY MOSSBAUER-SPECTROSCOPY AND X-RAY-DIFFRACTION

An injectable iron dextran complex used as a hematinic has been studied using Mossbauer spectroscopy (18-295 K) and x-ray powder diffraction. The iron is 100% high-spin Fe3+ as determined by Mossbauer spectroscopy. While different samples of the complex showed different magnetic ordering temperatures, all the spectra can be adequately fitted to a distribution of doublets at room temperature and to a distribution of sextets at low temperatures. The sextet distribution is broad and asymmetric due to the relatively large distribution of particle sizes. There is a range of temperatures over which both sextet and doublet coexist. The x-ray diffraction patterns of the different samples gave similar patterns with broad, weak peaks at 5.07, 3.24, 2.51, 2.28, 1.94, 1.63, and 1.49 Angstrom. These values are consistent with cell contracted akaganeite, beta-FeOOH. In one sample, the peaks are slightly shifted and are consistent with ''normal'' akaganeite.