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Minerals that interact with lung fluids eventually develop a ferruginous coating that is believed to derive from ferritin. The "asbestos body" shown in the figure is commonly found in the lungs or sputum of individuals exposed to asbestos (including those exposed only to environmental sources). As can be seen from the figure, these coatings are typically thicker at the ends of the fibers. I'm trying to synthesize ferruginous bodies in a cell-free system to determine if the formation of ferruginous bodies relates to the oxidation/reduction properties of the mineral.
