Phenylseleno N-Acetyl a-Amino Acids Conjugated Magnetic Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization and Radical Scavenging Ability

Organoselenium compounds, Phenylseleno N-acetyl alpha-amino acid (PhSeCH2CONHCH2COOH and PhSeCH2-CONHCH (CH2OH) COOH) synthesized in our laboratory have been covalently conjugated to Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) through amide linkage. These organoselenium conjugated MNPs showed good aqueous colloidal stability and magnetic field responsivity, thus can be targeted to the site of interest by external magnetic field. The radical scavenging activity of these selenium compounds evaluated by DPPH radical reaction showed enhancement in activity on conjugation with MNPs. This may be possibly due to the combined effect of antioxidant activity of organoselenium compound and intrinsic enzyme mimetic activity of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Specially, the present study suggests that the developed formulations could be promising candidates for healthcare applications.