Insight into the biological effects of acupuncture points by X-ray absorption fine structure

Exploration of the biological effects of transition metal ions in acupuncture points is essential to clarify the functional mechanism of acupuncture treatment. Here we show that in the SP6 acupuncture point ( Sanyinjiao ) the Fe ions are in a high-spin state of approximately t 2g 4.5 e g 1.5 in an Fe–N(O) octahedral crystal field. The Fe K-edge synchrotron radiation X-ray absorption fine structure results reveal that the Fe–N and Fe–O bond lengths in the SP6 acupuncture point are 2.05 and 2.13 Å, respectively, and are 0.05–0.10 Å longer than those in the surrounding tissue. The distorted atomic structure reduces the octahedral symmetry and weakens the crystal field around the Fe ions by approximately 0.3 eV, leading to the high-spin configuration of the Fe ions, which is favorable for strengthening the magnetotransport and oxygen transportation properties in the acupuncture point by the enhanced spin coherence. This finding might provide some insight into the microscopic effect of the atomic and electronic interactions of transition metal ions in the acupuncture point. Graphical Abstract ᅟ