Magnetic resonance as a technique to magnetic biosensors characterization in Neocapritermes opacus termites

This experimental study quantitatively correlates the saturation magnetization obtained from hysteresis curves (SQUID measurements) to the second integral of the magnetic resonance (MR) spectra of Neocapritermes opacus termites. Termites were submitted to an iron private diet, feeding them with pure cellulose for up to four days. This diet cleans their guts of ingested detrital material, eliminating non-biogenic soil-derived magnetite from the ensuing analyses. A clear relation between total magnetic moment (emu) from SQUID measurements and the signal intensity (absorption area) from MR is given.