The Blood of Ascidia nigra: Blood Cell Frequency Distribution, Morphology, and the Distribution and Valence of Vanadium in Living Blood Cells

1. The blood plasma of Ascidia nigra has been characterized with regard to pH, salinity, and ultraviolet-visible absorption. Whole blood of A. nigra has been characterized with regard to cell count, cellular volume, hemoglobin (iron) content, vanadium content. Blood cell types have been examined, categorized, and differentially counted. 2. Epr and nmr studies prove that trivalent vanadium is present. Staining of whole blood slides with OsO4 reagent identify the vanadium-carrying cells as being mainly the green globular blood cells. The observed uv-vis absorption spectrum does not correlate well with known vanadium(III) complex spectra. 3. Density separation of blood cells has been achieved; this result coupled with various cell morphologies suggests that different cells may represent different maturational stages in a developmental process. 4. Vanadium analyses of layerings of cells of different densities suggest that vanadium may be present in more than one type of blood cell, where, when not present as vanadium(III), it would be present in the diamagnetic, pentavalent oxidation state.