Fe3O4 nanoparticle-coated boron nitride nanospheres: Synthesis, magnetic property and biocompatibility study

Hybrid nanocomposites consisting of uniform Fe3O4 nanoparticles and boron nitride (BN) nanospheres were synthesized via an ethanol-thermal reaction method. The spherical BN nanoparticles (BNNSs) with average diameter 150 nm have been uniformly coated with dense ultra-small Fe3O4 nanoparticles (with average diameter of 10 nm), forming novel Fe3O4@BNNS nanocomposites. Magnetic measurement by using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) indicates that the Fe3O4 coating is superparamagnetic, and the nanocomposites can be physically manipulated at a low magnetic field. Preliminary biocompatibility study has also been performed to evaluate the toxicity of the nanocomposites. The nanocomposites show cytocompatibility at low concentration and have little effect on cell viability of MCF-7, MCF-10 and Hela cell lines. The Fe3O4@BNNS nanocomposites may find a wide range of potential applications including water treatment, catalysts, carriers for boron neutron capture therapy and magnetic-targeted drug delivery.