The Behavior and Stability of Iron-Ascorbate Complexes in Solution

Redox-Based Colorimetric Sensor for the Selective Determination of Ascorbic Acid in Fixed-Dose Combination Tablets

BACKGROUND

Ascorbic acid (ASC; vitamin C) is a weak chromophore, so its presence cannot be determined directly by spectrophotometry.

OBJECTIVE

This work aims to develop and validate a simple and ecofriendly analytical method for the determination of ASC concentration based on the reaction of ASC with the metal complex, ferric salicylate.

METHODS

The visible absorbance of ferric salicylate was found to be inversely proportional to the concentration of ASC. The possible mechanism of the reaction between ASC and ferric salicylate was investigated: ferric salicylate was found to be reduced by ASC under the applied experimental conditions. Different parameters that may affect the reaction were also investigated: ferric salicylate concentration, pH, ionic strength, and the time of reaction. The optimum concentration of ferric salicylate was found to be 1000 µM and the optimum pH was 5.5. The developed method was validated according to International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines.

RESULTS

The linearity range of the developed method was 5-70 µg/mL and the correlation coefficient was 0.9994. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.38 µg/mL and 1.16 µg/mL, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the determination of ASC concentration in commercial Ruta-C60® tablets. The mean recovery ± standard deviation was found to be 101.10 ± 0.70%. The results were statistically compared to those obtained by a reported HPLC method. Good agreement was observed.

CONCLUSION

The developed method is simple, fast, cost-effective, and suitable for routine pharmaceutical analysis of ASC.

HIGHLIGHTS

The developed method is more sensitive than the other spectrophotometric methods reported for determination of ASC.

The model pH-controlled delivery system based on gelatin-tannin hydrogels containing ferrous ascorbate: iron releasein vitro

Hydrogels have become an essential class among all biomaterials. The specialized biomaterials are highly valued in the field of biomedical applications. One of the problems in wound management is local microelement deficiency associated with extensive wound lesions. The significant lack of elemental iron in the human body leads to serious consequences and prolongs treatment. The synthesis of gelatin-tannin hydrogels with ion delivery function is proposed in this study. The ability to release ions in low acid solution is a sphere of great interest. The pH drop in the wound cavity is usually associated with the contamination of some bacterial cultures. pH-controlled delivery of iron in buffer solutions (рН = 5.5/6.4/7.4) was considered for these hydrogels. The kinetics of iron release was determined by visible spectroscopy. Theoretical models were applied to describe the process of ion delivery. The structure of materials was examined by IR-spectroscopy and demonstrated the incorporation of ferrous ascorbate into hydrogel matrix. Thermal analysis was used to point out the key differences in thermal behavior by isoconversional methods (Flynn-Wall-Ozawa/Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose). The mechanical properties of the materials have been studied. The effect of iron ascorbate on polymer network parameters was discussed. The current study demonstrated the possibility of obtaining gelatin-tannin hydrogels for pH-dependent iron delivery. That provides future perspectives to expand the set of releasing microelements for biomedical applications.

A highly sensitive switch-on spectrofluorometric method for determination of ascorbic acid using a selective eco-friendly approach

Ascorbic acid has recently been extensively used due to its role in the management of COVID-19 infections by stimulating the immune system and triggering phagocytosis of the corona virus. The currently used spectrofluorometric methods for determination of ascorbic acid require using derivatizing agents or fluorescent probes and suffer from a number of limitations, including slow reaction rates, low yield, limited sensitivity, long reaction times and high temperatures. In this work, we present a highly sensitive spectrofluorometric method for determination of ascorbic acid by switching-on the fluorescence of salicylate in presence of iron (III) due to a reduction of the cation to iron (II). The addition of ascorbic acid resulted in a corresponding enhancement in the fluorescence intensity of iron (III)-salicylate complex at emission wavelength = 411 nm. The method was found linear in the range of 1-8 µg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9997. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.035 µg/mL and 0.106 µg/mL, respectively. The developed method was applied for the determination of ascorbic acid in the commercially available dosage form; Ruta C60® tablets. The obtained results were compared with those obtained by a reported liquid chromatographic method at 95% confidence interval, no statistically significant differences were found between the developed and the reported methods. Yet, the developed spectrofluorometric method was found markedly greener than the reference method, based on the analytical Eco-scale and the green analytical procedure index. This work presents a simple, rapid and sensitive method that can possibly be applied for determination of ascorbic acid in pharmaceuticals, biological fluids and food samples.

Interfacial reaction between organic acids and iron-containing clay minerals: Hydroxyl radical generation and phenolic compounds degradation

Reactive oxygen species, especially hydroxyl radicals (OH), exert a distinguished role in the transformation of contaminants, and their in-situ generation attracts wide attentions in environmental and geochemical areas. The present work explored the potential formation of OH during the interactions between iron-containing clay minerals and environmentally prevalent organic acids in dark environments. The results demonstrated that the accumulative OH concentrations were related to the solution pH, the types of clay minerals, and the nature of organic acid species. At pH 5.5, 1.2- 15.2 times of OH were generated from the reduction of Na-nontronite-2 (Na-NAu-2) compared with other clay minerals in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA) at 144 h. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses indicated that Fe(III) was reduced to Fe(II) by AA during OH formation. Meanwhile, chemical probe tests coupled with quenching experiments confirmed the generation of H₂O₂ and superoxide radical (O₂^-), which participated in the formation of OH. The produced OH/O₂^- can transform 68.4%, 86.4%, and 50.1% of phenol, p-nitrophenol, and 2,4-dichlorophenol within 168 h in AA-Na-NAu-2 suspension, respectively. This work provides valuable insights into OH production in the mutual interaction between organic acids and iron-bearing clays, which is helpful for the development of a new method for removing organic pollutants from contaminated water and soil environments.

Ascorbic acid-mediated reductive disassembly of Fe3+-tannic acid shells in degradable single-cell nanoencapsulation

The simple use of vitamin C leads to the reductive disassembly of the Fe³⁺-TA complex and in situ artificial shell degradation in single-cell nanoencapsulation.

Unraveling the interaction of hydroxylamine and Fe(III) in Fe(II)/Persulfate system: A kinetic and simulating study

Hydroxylamine showed an outstanding performance on enhancing the oxidation of pollutants in Fe(II) involved advanced oxidation processes, while the detailed reaction schemes have not been fully revealed. Specific functions of hydroxylamine in the oxidation of benzoic acid with Fe(II)/persulfate (PDS) system were explored. With the addition of hydroxylamine, degradation kinetics of benzoic acid deviated from both two-stage kinetics and pseudo first order kinetics, but could be interpreted well with binomial regression analysis. Degradation rate constant (k_obs) of benzoic acid was calculated and showed the same variation trend with [hydroxylamine][Fe(III)]²/([Fe(II)][H⁺])², the value of which was changed during reaction processes. A detailed kinetic model for simulating the degradation profile of benzoic acid with hydroxylamine acceleration was proposed for the first time and indicated that interactions of hydroxylamine and Fe(III) were fast equilibrium reactions, which was a dominant factor influencing the oxidation kinetics of benzoic acid in Fe(II)/hydroxylamine/PDS system. Comparative study showed that when 1.4 mM of ascorbic acid was added into Fe(II)/PDS system, degradation kinetics of benzoic acid was similar to that enhanced by hydroxylamine. However, when 0.6 mM or 1.0 mM of ascorbic acid was added, oxidation kinetics still presented as the two-stage profile. Kinetic simulations indicated that Fe(II) was produced slower from Fe(III)-ascorbic acid complexes than that with hydroxylamine, which caused the difference in oxidation kinetics. This study could improve our understanding about the effect of hydroxylamine and other reductants in promoting pollutants elimination in Fe(II)/PDS system.

The effect of vitamin C and iron on dopamine-mediated free radical generation: implications to Parkinson's disease

While the application of Asc alone may aggravate the progression of PD in view of the possible peroxidation of Asc bound Fe(ii), a combination therapy of Asc and strong clinically appropriate iron chelator would appear to be a promising direction for the treatment of PD as a result of the enhanced iron chelation and attenuation in oxidative stress and toxicity induced by DA derived quinones.

Application of ascorbic acid to enhance trichloroethene degradation by Fe(III)-activated calcium peroxide

The enhancement effect of an environmentally friendly reducing agent, ascorbic acid (AA), on trichloroethene (TCE) degradation by Fe(III)-activated calcium peroxide (CP) was evaluated. The addition of AA accelerated the transformation of Fe(III) to Fe(II), and the complexation of Fe(III)/Fe(II) with AA and its products alleviated the precipitation of dissolved iron. These impacts enhanced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROSs). Investigation of ROSs using chemical probe tests, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) tests, and radical scavenger tests strongly confirm large production of hydroxyl radicals (HO•) that is responsible for TCE degradation. The generation of Cl- from the degraded TCE was complete in the enhanced CP/Fe(III)/AA system. The investigation of solution matrix effects showed that the TCE degradation rate decreases with the increase in solution pH, while Cl-, SO42- and NO3- anions have minor impact. Conversely, HCO3- significantly inhibited TCE degradation due to pH elevation and HO• scavenging. The results of experiments performed using actual groundwater indicated that an increase in reagent doses are required for effective TCE removal. In summary, the potential effectiveness of the CP/Fe(III)/AA oxidation system for remediation of TCE contaminated groundwater has been demonstrated. Additional research is needed to develop the system for practical implementation.

Effectiveness of stimulating PCE reductive dechlorination: a step-wise approach

Reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene (PCE) and its daughter products in aquifers is often hampered by Fe(III) reducing conditions. Rigorous treatment to adjust the redox potential and stimulate dechlorination may be costly and potentially have negative effects on other aquifer functions. A step-wise experimental strategy was applied to investigate the effectiveness of various adjustment scenarios. Batch experiments with ascorbic acid (AA) and sodium lactate (SL) showed that 75μmol electron equivalents per gram dry mass of aquifer material was required to reach a sufficiently low redox potential for the onset of PCE dechlorination. Similar effects of either AA or SL on the measured redox potential suggest electron donors are not specific. However, the relative rates of Fe(III) and sulphate reduction appeared to be specific to the electron donor applied. While redox potential stabilised around -450mV after titration and sulphate was reduced to zero in both treatments, in the AA treatment a faster production of Fe(2+) was observed with a final concentration of 0.46mM compared to only 0.07mM in the SL treatment. In subsequent batch experiments with aquifer material that was pre-treated with AA or SL, PCE reductive dechlorination occurred within 30days. Further stimulation tests with extra electron donor or inoculum revealed that adding electron donor can accelerate the initiation of PCE biodegradation. However, bioaugmentation with dechlorinating bacteria is required to achieve complete reductive dechlorination to ethene. The findings from step-wise approaches are relevant for improving the cost-effectiveness of the design and operation of in-situ bioremediation at initially unfavourable environmental conditions.

Mineral dialyzability in milk and fermented dairy products fortified with FeNaEDTA

Iron, zinc, and calcium dialyzability and ascorbic acid (AA) concentrations were evaluated in milk and yogurt fortified with FeNaEDTA (FE) or ferrous sulfate (FS) as a control, with or without AA addition. The values obtained for FE iron dialyzability in milk were much higher than those obtained for FS. The addition of AA to milk improved Fe dialyzability when using FS and slightly decreased Fe dialyzability in the FE-fortified nonfermented samples. Milk fermentation increased iron availability from both iron sources. Zinc and calcium dialyzability in products containing any of the two iron sources was increased in fermented milks. EDTA improved Zn dialyzability from intrinsic zinc in every manufactured dairy product. Whereas for milks fortified with FS and stored at 4 degrees C for 24 h, the AA content remained close to the original concentration, a higher AA degradation was observed when milks were fortified with FE.

Synthesis, structure, and properties of a mixed-valent triiron complex of tetramethyl reductic acid, an ascorbic acid analogue, and its relationship to a functional non-heme iron oxidation catalyst system

The purple triiron(II,III,III) complex, [Fe(3)Cl(2)(TMRASQ)(4)(HTMRA)(2)] x C(5)H(12) (1 x C(5)H(12)), where H(2)TMRA is a tetramethyl reductic acid, 4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-2,3-dihydroxy-2-cyclopenten-1-one, and HTMRASQ is the semiquinone form of this ligand, was prepared from (Et(4)N)(2)[Fe(2)OCl(6)] and H(2)TMRA and characterized by X-ray crystallography, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and redox titrations. The physical properties of the complex in solution are consistent with its mixed-valent character, as delineated by a solid-state structure analysis. Assignments of the iron and ligand oxidation states in the crystal were made on the basis of a valence bond sum analysis and the internal ligand geometry. As the first well-characterized iron complex of an ascorbic acid H(2)AA analogue, 1 provides insight into the possible coordination geometry of the family of complexes containing H(2)AA and its analogues. In the presence of air and H(2)TMRA, 1 is able to catalyze the oxidation of cyclohexane to cyclohexanol with remarkable selectivity, but the nature of the true catalyst remains unknown.

Intestinal iron absorption: current concepts circa 2000

Iron is essential for all mammalian cells, and particularly needed for the production of erythrocyte haemoglobin. However, excess iron is toxic, and tissue iron concentrations must be strictly regulated. This regulation occurs at the sites of entrance of iron into the body: in the placenta before birth, and the small intestine after birth. Although iron homeostasis has been intensively studied for half a century, the molecular details have only recently begun to emerge. This review will cover current information on intestinal iron absorption.

Iron transport across biologic membranes

Iron is essential for life, but is toxic in excess. Nearly all organisms have therefore developed regulated mechanisms for efficient transport of iron into cells. This paper reviews the current understanding of iron transport, focusing on valuable lessons from studies of yeast iron transport and the discovery of the first mammalian transmembrane iron transporter.

The surface of rat hepatocytes can transfer iron from stable chelates to external acceptors

The chelator diethylenetriaminepentaacetate (DTPA) forms a stable complex with iron that does not donate iron to transferrin under physiological conditions, i.e., pH above 7 and isotonic milieu. It does, however, deliver iron to hepatocytes. This uptake is initiated by a mobilization of the metal from the complex by the cell surface. When an external chelator is added simultaneously, it can bind the iron and inhibit its accumulation by the cells. This is shown here with the impermeant siderophore conjugate hydroxyethyl-starch coupled desferrioxamine, as well as with apotransferrin. We also demonstrate exchange of iron between DTPA and holo-transferrin, or at least movement from the chelator to the protein, which may have lost its iron to the cell in advance, providing new binding sites for mobilized iron. The efficient hepatocyte iron donor lactoferrin greatly stimulates iron uptake from DTPA, apparently by binding iron and transferring it into the cells by endocytosis. Ferritin is unable to do this; therefore, the mobilization of iron is not caused by a reducing activity at the cell surface, because iron is readily transferred from DTPA to ferritin by the reductant ascorbic acid. The transfer process is dependent on the temperature, the time, and the amount of cells present, and is partly inhibited by sulfhydryl reagents. We conclude that this activity represents a hitherto unidentified first step in the movement of iron through the cell membrane and may be relevant for transferrin-bound, as well as for non-transferrin-bound, iron uptake by hepatocytes.

Regulation of mammalian iron metabolism: current state and need for further knowledge

Due to its character as an essential element for all forms of life, the biochemistry and physiology of iron has attracted very intensive interest for many decades. In more recent years, the ways that iron metabolism is regulated in mammalian and human organisms have been clarified, and many aspects of iron metabolism have been reviewed. In this article, some newer aspects concerning absorption and intracellular regulation of iron concentration are considered. These include a sorting of possible models for intestinal iron absorption, a description of ways for membrane passage of iron after release from transferrin during receptor-mediated endocytosis, a consideration of possible mechanisms for non-transferrin bound iron uptake and its regulation, and a review of recent knowledge on the properties of iron regulatory proteins and on regulation of iron metabolism by these proteins, changes of their own properties by non-iron-mediated influences, and regulatory events not mediated by these proteins. This somewhat heterogeneous collection of themes is a consequence of the intention to avoid repetition of the many aforementioned reviews already existing and to concentrate on newer findings generated within the last couple of years.

Iron speciation at physiological pH in media containing ascorbate and oxygen

The stability of iron ascorbate solutions was investigated, under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions, with the Fe2+ and Fe3+ indicators, respectively ferrozine and mimosine, at different pH values. The species present under the differing conditions were investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and Mössbauer spectroscopy and by gel-filtration chromatography. At physiological pH (6.8-7.4) iron ascorbate solutions rapidly form mononuclear chelatable Fe3+ species as reflected by indicator studies and EPR. Mössbauer spectroscopy fails to detect any Fe2+ species. EPR studies show a time-dependent decrease in rhombic Fe3+, particularly in oxygenated buffers, consistent with a conversion to polynuclear Fe. O2 uptake studies show that the conversion of Fe2+ to Fe3+ in Fe-ascorbate solutions at pH > 7.0 was accompanied by rapid O2 consumption but preceded depletion of ascorbate. Addition of high concentrations of mannitol (50-200 mM) reduces the O2 consumption and partly stabilizes the rapidly chelatable Fe form. Gel filtration studies show that the oxidation of Fe-ascorbate solutions at pH 7.4 is accompanied by an increase in the apparent relative molecular mass of the Fe, presumably due to Fe polymer formation. These studies indicate that inherent instability of Fe-ascorbate solutions above neutral pH and clearly have important implications in the use of ascorbate in studies of Fe physiology.

Contributions of heme and nonheme iron to human nutrition

Dietary iron is present in food both in inorganic forms as ferrous and ferric compounds, and in organic forms, the most important of these being heme iron. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the contributions of both heme and nonheme iron in establishing and maintaining a healthful iron status. The human requirement for iron, bioavailability of heme and nonheme iron, and amounts of heme and nonheme iron in the diet are individually estimated after reviewing the relevant literature in Sections II, III, and IV, respectively. In Section V, the contribution of heme and nonheme iron to human nutrition, as compared to the human requirement for iron (Section II), is estimated after attenuating the amounts of heme and nonheme iron found in the diet (Section IV) by their bioavailabilities (Section III).

The effects of postharvest treatment and chemical interactions on the bioavailability of ascorbic acid, thiamin, vitamin A, carotenoids, and minerals

All recent health recommendations include admonitions to reduce calories, maintain desirable weight, reduce fat, increase complex carbohydrates, and ensure an adequate intake of nutrients. Such recommendations require that we know not only nutrient composition of foods, but also potential losses and decreased bioavailability due to postharvest treatment and chemical interactions. This article discusses in some detail the reactions of concern that cause such changes and their potential alleviation with several key nutrients. The nutrients discussed were chosen as a result of the conclusions of the Joint Nutrition Monitoring Report of the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Obviously other choices could have been made, but the authors felt that the nutrients chosen--ascorbic acid, thiamin, vitamin A, carotenoids, calcium, and iron--were representative of a key profile of nutrients whose reactivity makes them vulnerable to losses in bioavailability, as well as being noted in the Joint Nutrition Monitoring Report.