Synthesis and Evaluation of Magnetic Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

In this study, iron oxide (IO) nanoparticles from various precursors have been synthesized using sonochemical method and characterized for their structural variability and toxicity. The iron oxide (IO) precursor solutions were prepared from iron acetate (IA), iron pentacarbonyl (IP), decalin, PEG (poly(ethylene glycol)), EG (ethylene glycol), PVA (poly(vinyl alcohol)), β-cyclodextrin (CD), and distilled water. These precursor solutions were irradiated with high power ultrasound for 3 hours and heat treated as needed. These as-prepared iron oxide nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Mössbauer spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and magnetization measurements. XRD results show that all the particles are highly crystalline in nature and the particles sizes measured from TEM are approximately 5–20 nm. The maximum magnetization was observed for IO-IP at approximately 60.17 emu/g and the minimum was approximately 30.56 emu/g for IO-IA. These results confirm that the particles are superparamagnetic (SPM) in nature. Mössbauer spectroscopy verified the magnetic nanoparticles are purely Fe3O4 and particles sizes varied by the nature of the precursor and coatings.