Study of chitosan coated copper substituted nano-ferrites for hyperthermia applications

In this study, copper (Cu+2) was substituted with CoFe2O4 nanoparticles (CuxCo1-xFe2O4 where x = 0.15, 0.31 and 0.47) to make them more efficient for hyperthermia treatment. To enhance the heating efficiency, chitosan was used to coat the nanoparticles. The emergence of well-crystalline structures in the single phase inverse spinel structure was confirmed by Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction. FTIR analysis confirmed that the chitosan was coated on the surface of the nanoparticles. An appropriate amount of weight loss of chitosan coating in the samples was also identified by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Magnetic nanoparticles with an average particle size in the range of 10-11 nm were revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), with nano -particles spherical in shape. The vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) study indicates that the magnetic characteristics such as Hc and Mr decrease as the Cu+2 doping increases, whilst the Ms (saturation magnetization) increases and reduces as the Cu+2 doping concentration increases in CoFe2O4 nanoparticles. The self-heating characteristics of all nanoparticles show that as concentration increases, temperature increases but specific ab-sorption rate (SAR) decreases. Interestingly, the chitosan coating at x = 0.37 nanoparticles with a dosage of 1 mg/ml indicates better SAR performance reaching a targeted temperature for magnetic hyperthermia therapy.

Automated summary

This study investigated the substitution of copper with CoFe2O4 nanoparticles and the coating of chitosan to enhance their efficiency for hyperthermia treatment. The results showed the emergence of well-crystalline structures and the presence of chitosan coating on the nanoparticle surface. The nanoparticles exhibited magnetic characteristics that varied with Cu+2 doping concentration, and the self-heating characteristics indicated a decrease in specific absorption rate as concentration increases. Notably, the chitosan coating at x = 0.37 nanoparticles showed the best performance for magnetic hyperthermia therapy.