Preparation and characterization of functional silica hybrid magnetic nanoparticles

We report on the synthesis and characterization of functional silica hybrid magnetic nanoparticles (SHMNPs). The co-condensation of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) in presence of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) leads to hybrid magnetic silica particles that are surface-functionalized with primary amino groups. In this work, a comprehensive synthetic study is carried out and completed by a detailed characterization of hybrid particles' size and morphology, surface properties, and magnetic responses using different techniques. Depending on the mass ratio of SPIONs and the two silanes (TEOS and APTES), we were able to adjust the number of surface amino groups and tune the magnetic properties of the superparamagnetic hybrid particles. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.