Mössbauer study of exogenous iron redistribution between the brain and the liver after administration of 57Fe3O4 ferrofluid in the ventricle of the rat brain

Iron clearance pathways after the injection of 57Fe3O4-based ferrofluid into the brain ventricles were studied histologically and by Mössbauer spectroscopy. It was found that the dextran coated initial nanobeads of the ferrofluid disintegrated in the brain into separate superparamagnetic nanoparticles within a week after the injection. The exogenous iron completely exited all ventricular cavities of the brain within a week after the injection but remained in the white matter for months. Kupffer cells with the exogenous iron appeared in the rat liver 2 hours after the injection. Their concentration reached its maximum on the third day and dropped to zero within a week. The exogenous iron appeared in the spleen a week after the injection and remained in the spleen for months.