Characterization of magnetic nanoparticles from the shells of freshwater mussel L fortunei and marine P perna mussels

The presence of magnetic nanoparticles in animal species, including humans, has been growing steadily, but none have reported the presence in mollusks apart from the radula of chitons, in 1962. In shells this is the first time. Magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles were extracted (using three distinct and rather simple protocols) from the shells of freshwater Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker 1857) and marine Perna perna (Linnaeus 1758) mussels and were fully physically-chemically characterized. Due to the spatial distribution, the ferrimagnetic particles in the shells are in low concentration and present a superparamagnetic behavior characteristic of materials of nanometric sizes. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM, especially HRTEM) indicated that the 50-100 nm round magnetic particles are in fact aggregates of 5-10 nm nanoparticles. Using analysis TEM techniques on the shell of the L fortunei we have not found any iron oxide particle at the periostracum layer nor in the calcite layer. Nevertheless, roughly round nanoparticle aggregates of iron hydroxy/oxide were found in the nacar layer, the aragonite layer. Being the aragonite layer responsible for more than 97% of the shell of the L fortunei and considering the estimated size of magnetic nanoparticles we could infer that they might be distributed throughout the nacar layer.