Antiferromagnetic switch in serum

1.Ferritin contains naturally occurring iron oxide nanoparticle surrounded by a structured spherical array of peptide residues that provides tremendous stability to this iron storage protein. We use synthetic citrate coated Super Paramagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (SPIONs) and static magnetic field in exploring the Ferritin induced magnetic environment of human serum samples with varying ferritin level collected from thalassemic patients. We report anti-ferromagnetic properties of serum in patients with iron overloading. Magnetic pulling by an external magnetic field showed a cusp-like behavior with increasing concentration of serum Ferritin measured by standard ELISA based kit. A reduction in the extent of pulling after a threshold concentration of Ferritin (1500 ng/ml) suggests a Ferritin dependent magnetic switching.Negative magnetization (anti-ferromagnetization) was confirmed by Vibrating Sample Magnetometric (VSM) analysis of SPION-serum mixture containing very high level of Ferritin. Such magnetic switching may have a possible role in iron homeostasis during overloading of Ferritin.\n\n3. AbbreviationsSPIONs: Super Paramagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles, VSM: Vibrating Sample Magnetometry, SQUID: Super conducting Quantum Interference Device, PCS: Photon Correlation Spectroscopy