This study is comprised of the synthesis and characterization of uniform fine particles of iron oxide in different shapes and sizes. Varying amounts of iron (III) chloride and sodium dihydrogen phosphate were heated at 98 oC for various periods, following the forced hydrolysis method. Scanning electron microscopic analysis showed that the shape and size of the precipitated particles were dependent on the applied experimental conditions. Selected batches of the synthesized particles were characterized by various physical methods i. e., XRD, FT-IR, electrophoretic mobility to confirm their identity. The high concentration of phosphate ions tended the particles to grow lengthwise so as the morphology of the precipitated particles change from spherical (axial ratio 1) to ellipsoidal (axial ratio 6) shape. The excess amount of ferric chloride in the reaction medium facilitated the growth of the primarily formed particles. The particle size increased with aging and attained a limiting value in 94 h. All the solids were crystalline and the observed peaks in the XRD patterns corresponded to iron (III) oxide. These findings are important in developing a facile and robust method for the synthesis of monodispersed particles of various metal oxides and controlling their size and shape.

Introduction: Industrial and environmental pollution, excessive iron supplementation and blood transfusion are among the factors that may cause iron toxicity. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the mechanisms influencing or protecting against iron toxicity. The present study aimed to investigate the protective effects of quercetin as an antioxidant on hepatotoxicity induced by iron oxide and nano-iron oxide. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 30 Wistar rats (five groups): A) control group, B) nano-iron oxide, C) iron oxide, D) nano-iron oxide plus quercetin, and E) iron oxide plus quercetin. Nano-iron oxide and iron oxide were administered in daily doses of 20mg/kg, and quercetin in daily doses of 100mg/kg by intraperitoneal injection for 15 days. Correspondingly, the rats were then euthanized and their liver tissue was transferred to the pathology lab in 10% formalin. Samples were examined by conventional histopathological techniques using the Hematoxylin & Eosin, and Perls’ Prussian blue staining methods, and observed under the optical microscope. Results: The findings showed that nano-iron oxide and iron oxide can lead to inflammation in hepatic lobules and portal triads, sinusoidal dilatation, abnormal proliferation of the hepatocytes and Kupffer cells, and some hepatocyte degeneration. Simultaneous quercetin treatment was found to reduce the histopathological effects of metal particles, particularly iron oxide particles. Moreover, samples were tested for signs of bile retention, fibrosis and necrosis, but the results were negative. Conclusion: The present study confirmed the anti-inflammatory and protective effects of quercetin as an herbal antioxidant on hepatotoxicity induced by nano-iron oxide and iron oxide.

To improve network-functioning, an arc discharge method was developed for the synthesis of nano iron oxide with “neuralnetwork” morphology. iron wires with diameters of 0.01-0.05 cm were subjected to currents of 50-200 A, until explosions occured in the open air. The XRD and RAMAN spectra of the as-prepared-products indicate formation of nano-Fe2O3 (tetragonal and monoclinic) crystals. Their SEM images show fabrication of nano iron oxide with three different morphologies: spheres, chains, and a “neural-network” biological form. While the latter is unprecedented, our fabrications of nano iron oxide with both sphere and chain morphologies are reproductions of previously reported results. The sphere shaped nanoparticles show a uniform distribution with sizes in the range of 50-250 nm. The specifications of the chain nano products appear consistent with those reported.