Synthesis of γ-Fe2O3 Nanoparticles Capped with Oleic Acid and their Magnetic Characterization

In recent years, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles have attracted a great attention due to their various biomedical applications, such as magnetic resonance imaging, targeted drug delivery, and hyperthermia. In this article, gamma-Fe2O3 magnetic nanoparticles (Maghemite) were prepared in oleic acid media by co-precipitation method. The oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid was used as the capping and stabilizing agent during the synthesis of the magnetic nanoparticles. Characterization of obtained nanoparticles were performed using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The crystallite size of gamma-Fe2O3 nanoparticles was achieved in the range between 16.2 and 26.8 nm. The FESEM demonstrated the regular spheres of gamma-Fe2O3 nanoparticles. The obtained nanoparticles were coated with oleic acid indicating by FTIR analysis. The resulted oleic acid-coated nanoparticles were shown superparamagnetic properties (similar to 52 emu/g). This suggested method is simple and rapid to fabricate superparamagnetic nanoparticles which make them appropriate candidates for theranostic application in future studies.