Alcohol-water as a novel medium for beta-hematin preparation.

It is shown that alcohol-water mixtures (e.g., 43 wt% ethanol) provide a suitable medium for the efficient production in high yield of beta-hematin from ferriprotoporphyrin IX (FP), as measured by infrared spectroscopy.

On the preparation of beta-haematin.

Synthetic beta-haematin is considered to be identical, or at least very similar to, purified malaria pigment. Methods for its preparation use ferriprotoporphyrin IX at acid pH in the presence of acetic acid at different concentrations and degrees of ionization, elevated temperatures and long reaction times. Here we show that certain widely used reaction conditions, involving very high concentrations of acetic acid/acetate mixtures, do not produce substantial amounts of polymeric beta-haematin on immediate isolation of the reaction products, but only during prolonged drying of the products at 37 degrees C after washing with water.

Investigations of B- and beta-hematin.

The preparation from ferriprotoporphyrin IX (FP) in aqueous acid medium of the related pigments beta- and B-hematin [see G. Blauer and M. Akkawi, Biochem.

B-hematin.

Very rapid production in vitro of a particular type of hematin (B-hematin) with high yield at physiological pH and temperature is presently reported, using a simple chemical system including an organic acid in the absence of any enzyme. B-hematin is characterized by infrared spectra and solubility properties. The antimalarial drug chloroquine practically prevents formation of this hematin under the conditions used.

Circular dichroism of ferriprotoporphyrin IX-morphine complexes in aqueous solution.

Complexes of ferriprotoporphyrin IX (FP) with (-)-morphine exhibit large optical activity in aqueous solution. Several CD bands of different signs were recorded under different conditions in the wavelength range of 300 to 450 nm. The largest CD band, centered at about 364 nm, showed molar ellipticities of about -5 x 10(5) deg.