Water dispersible oleic acid-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have proved their tremendous potential to be used for various biomedical applications. Oleic acid (OA) is widely used in ferrite nanoparticle synthesis because it can form a dense protective monolayer, thereby producing highly uniform and monodispersed particles. Capping agents such as oleic acid are often used because they form a protective monolayer, which is strongly bonded to the surface of nanoparticles. This is necessary for making monodisperse and highly uniform MNPs. Coating of Fe3O4 MNPs with OA makes the particles dispersible only in organic solvents and consequently limits their use for biomedical applications. Hence, in this work, the OA coated MNPs were again functionalized with chitosan (CS), in order to impart hydrophilicity on their surface. All the morphological, magnetic, colloidal and cytotoxic characteristics of the resulting core-shells were studied thoroughly. Their heating induction ability was studied to predict their possible use in hyperthermia therapy of cancer. Specific absorption rate was found to be increased than that of bare MNPs. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved