Assessing the Heat Generation and Self-Heating Mechanism of Superparamagnetic Fe3O4 Nanoparticles for Magnetic Hyperthermia Application: The Effects of Concentration, Frequency, and Magnetic Field

Abstract

Magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) exhibit favorable heating responses under magnetic excitation, which makes them particularly suited for various hyperthermia applications. Herein, we report the detailed self-heating mechanisms of MNPs prepared via the Ko-precipitation Hydrolytic Basic (KHB) methodology. The as-prepared MNPs were fully characterized using various spectroscopic techniques including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). MNPs exhibited stable 15 nm quasi-spherical small-sized particles, pure crystalline cubic Fe3O4 phases, high saturation magnetizations (Ms = ~40 emu·g−1), and superparamagnetic behavior. In response to alternating magnetic fields (AMFs), these MNPs displayed excellent self-heating efficiencies with distinctive heating responses, even when minimal doses of MNPs were used. Heating efficacies and specific absorption rate (SAR) values as functions of concentration, frequency, and amplitude were systematically investigated. Remarkably, within only a few minutes, MNPs (2.5 mg/mL) showed a rapid dissipation of heat energy, giving a maximum intrinsic loss power (ILP) of 4.29 nHm2/kg and a SAR of 261 W/g. Hyperthermia temperatures were rapidly reached in as early as 3 min and could rise up to 80 °C. In addition, Rietveld refinement, Langevin, and linear response theory (LRT) models were studied to further assess the magnetic and heating mechanisms. The LRT model was used to determine the Néel relaxation time (τR = 5.41 × 10−7 s), which was compared to the Brownian relation time value (τB = 11 × 10−7 s), showing that both mechanisms are responsible for heat dissipated by the MNPs. Finally, the cytotoxicity assay was conducted on aqueous dispersions of MNPs, indicating their biocompatibility and low toxicity. Our results strongly suggest that the as-prepared Fe3O4 MNPs are promising vehicles for potential magnetically triggered biomedical hyperthermia applications.