Recent advances in the synthesis of Fe3O4@AU core/shell nanoparticles

Fe3O4@Au core/shell nanoparticles have unique magnetic and optical properties. These nanoparticles are used for biomedical applications, such as magnetic resonance imaging, photothermal therapy, controlled drug delivery, protein separation, biosensors, DNA detection, and immunosensors. In this review, recent methods for the synthesis of core/shell nanoparticles are discussed. We divided all of the synthetic methods in two groups: methods of synthesis of bi-layer structures and methods of synthesis of multilayer composite structures. The latter methods have a layer of glue material between the core and the shell. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.