Worldwide, more individuals have iron deficiency than any other health problem. Most of those affected are unaware of their lack of iron, in part because detection of iron deficiency has required a blood sample. Here we report a non-invasive method to optically measure an established indicator of iron status, red blood cell zinc protoporphyrin, in the microcirculation of the lower lip. An optic...

The uptake of protoporphyrin IX by Propionibacterium acnes in suspension has been studied by fluorescence spectroscopy. Protoporphyrin, after it was injected into a cell suspension, was firstly bound to receptors on the cell surface and in this state protoporphyrin was non-fluorescent. Subsequently, probably as a result of lateral diffusion in the cell wall, these protoporphyrin-receptor comple...

According to the structural‐function hypothesis, eggshell pigment protoporphyrin, deposited at weak spots, can strengthen shell structure when calcium is lacking in avian species. However, this hypothesis has not been tested species that produce pigmented eggs of uniform ground colour without spotting patterns. We using 435 produced on seven diets (0.2–4.5%) given Common Pheasants Phasianus col...

Cell-free extracts of various cytochrome-containing, heterotrophic microorganisms were examined for ability to convert coproporphyrinogen to protoporphyrin. Extracts of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas denitrificans readily accumulated large amounts of protoporphyrin when assayed under aerobic conditions. However, protoporphyrin did not accumulate under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions of...

In previous studies on Chlorella mutants, several compounds were isolated which were postulated to be intermediates in chlorophyll synthesis. Protoporphyrin-9 was identified as the main porphyrin product from one mutant (I), magnesium protoporphyrin was found in another mutant (a), and magnesium vinylpheoporphyrin a5 in a third (3). Here we report on the isolation and identification of magnesiu...

Fluorescence spectra of protoporphyrin bound to its most affinitive site on human serum albumin, bound to human haemopexin and dissolved in human plasma reveal that, when present in plasma, at least 90% of this porphyrin is bound to albumin. Human serum albumin binds protoporphyrin with an affinity KA = 3 X 10(9)M-1 in phosphate-buffered saline. The affinity of haemopexin for protoporphyrin is ...

BACKGROUND Measurement of fecal porphyrins is important in the diagnosis of porphyria, but conventional methods to measure them have drawbacks. We explored the use of derivative matrix isopotential synchronous fluorescence (MISF) spectrometry for the measurement of coproporphyrin and protoporphyrin. METHODS The MISF scanning route was selected based on information from the three-dimensional f...

Lead can replace calcium in enzyme assays that measure protein kinase C activity and lead activates protein kinase C in human erythrocytes after exposure to lead in vitro. To examine the relevance of these observations to lead exposure in humans, we studied the associations of lead found in blood or tibia with activation of protein kinase C in erythrocytes isolated from workers in the lead indu...

We describe the separation of protoporphyrin and related porphyrins by reversed-phase "high-performance" liquid chromatography, with fluorometric detection. We used the method to demonstrate that acid hydrolysis of the dimethyl ester of protoporphyrin IX is complete in 2 to 3 h and is followed by the acid-catalyzed conversion of protoporphyrin IX to a chemical species that chromatographic evide...