Synthesis, Characterization and Antimicrobial Properties of Superparamagnetic α-Fe2O3Nanoparticles Stabilized by Biocompatible Starch

In the present study we have synthesized alpha-Fe(2)O(3)nanoparticles in a more conventionally established NaBH(4)reduction, but using a bio-macromolecule, starch. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using UV/visible and FTIR spectroscopic, XRD, SEM, and TEM techniques. The stabilised nanoparticles showed a considerable reduction in size (12-17 nm) compared to the bare nanoparticles (24-52 nm). The magnetic studies were conducted using VSM analysis. The most significant result was observed that the starch stabilised iron oxide nanoparticles showed superparamagnetic behaviour, while the bare nanoparticles remained weakly ferromagnetic. The antimicrobial properties of these superparamagnetic particles were monitored against five bacterial and fungal strains each.

Automated summary

In this study, alpha-Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using starch as a bio-macromolecule in a conventional reduction method. The stabilized nanoparticles showed smaller size and superparamagnetic behavior, with promising antimicrobial properties.