The Oxidation of Magnetic Particles in Medicinal Ointment

Magnetic particles in a novel, wound-healing ointment were studied using M$\ddot{o}$ssbauer spectroscopy and VSM to estimate the stability of the properties of the magnetic particles. The isomer shifts of $Fe_3O_4(A)$ were found to be 0.49-0.56 mm/s relative to iron metal, this indicates that the iron ions in $Fe_3O_4(A)$ are $Fe^{3+}$. On the other hand, the isomer shifts of $Fe_3O_4(B)$ were found to be 0.91-1.13 mm/s relative to iron metal, this shows that the ion state of $Fe_3O_4(B)$ is a mixed state of $Fe^{2+}$ and $Fe^{3+}$. It is noted that this composition, as well as that of the initial pure component in the form of a highly dispersed fraction (${\sim}10\;{\AA}$), differs from the stoichiometric one. It was found that the area ratio of the M$\ddot{o}$ssbauer subspectra of $Fe_3O_4(A)$ / $Fe_3O_4(B)$ taken at 87 and 181 K linearly increased in comparison to the initial pure magnetic particles, but the rate of increase of the area ratio at 181 K was about two times that at 87 K. From the magnetic hyperfine field, despite their small size, the particles exhibit no superparamagnetism.