Martin Škrátek
National projects
SQUIDiron – Determination of Iron in blood and tissues of laboratory animals using SQUID magnetometer. | |
Stanovenie množstva železa v krvi a tkanivách laboratórnych zvierat pomocou SQUID magnetometra | |
Program: | Plán obnovy EÚ |
Duration: | 1.9.2024 – 31.8.2026 |
Project leader: | Mgr. Škrátek Martin, PhD. |
Annotation: | Iron is an essential chemical element that is part of many metabolic processes. However, the amount of iron in the body must be balanced, as its excess or deficiency can lead to serious health conditions. Iron is found in the body in ferritin, hemoglobin or transferrin proteins. Deoxyhemoglobin, methemoglobin, and myoglobin are known to exhibit paramagnetism, which originates from the Fe2+ Fe3+ ions embedded in their molecules. Ferritin, as an iron storage protein, contains Fe atoms mineralized in the form of oxyhydroxide nanoparticles, whose behavior is superparamagnetic. SQUID magnetometry offers the possibility of detecting and quantifying different forms of iron with high sensitivity and could be more useful than other established methods (colorimetric, spectrophotometric, histochemical or atomic absorption spectrometry) in determining the amount of iron in small samples. |