Preparation of Xylitol-Iron-Citrate Complexes of Various Molecular Weight, and Effect of Molecular Weight on Blood Level and Urinary Excretion of Iron after Intramuscular Injection of Their Complexes

Various xylitol-iron-citrate complexes were prepared by addition of 0.15 molar ratio of sodium citrate to iron (III) to the xylitol-iron complexes, which were obtained by the static hydrolysis of aqueous solution of ferric chloride hexahydrate with Amberlite IRA-410 (OH type) in the presence of 0-1.42 molar ratio of xylitol to iron (III) (X1/Fe). Particle properties of the xylitol-iron-citrate complexes, plasma iron level, and urinary excretion of iron following intramuscular administration of the complexes were examined. (1) Sedimentation constant of the complexes decreased with augmentation of X1/Fe as follows : X1/Fe=0 : 21.6S, X1/Fe=0.36 : 7.2S, X1/Fe=0.71-1.42 : 4.0-4.7S. (2) There was a tendency for the maximum iron level in plasma and urinary excretion of iron to increase during the first 24 hr after application with decreasing molecular weight of the complexes.