One-pot synthesis of monodisperse iron oxide nanoparticles for potential biomedical applications

One-pot reaction of iron(Ill) acetylacetonate, Fe(acac)31 [or Fe(acac)3 and M(acac)(2) where M = Mn and Col, with 1,2-alkanediol, oleic acid, and oleylamine in high boiling organic solvent leads to monodisperse ferrite MFe2O4 nanoparticles. Depending on the concentration of the metal precursors, s urfactan t-to- metal precursor ratio and the solvent used in the reaction, the particle size from this one-pot reaction can be tuned from 4 to 15 nm. The as-synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles have an inverse spine] structure, and their magnetic properties are controlled by particle size and M in the MFe2O4 structure. The hydrophobic iron oxide nanoparticles are readily transformed into hydrophilic ones by functional phospholipid addition to the as-synthesized particles and as a result, the monodisperse nanoparticles are readily functionalized with biotin, -COOH, -SH, and -NH2 facilitating their link to biomolecules for biomedical applications.