A regulated production and coating of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) utilizing oleic acid (OA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) was examined in a study published in the International Journal of Nanotechnology. These two well-researched polymers can be combined in a co-precipitation method to create MNPs. The resulting nanoparticles can then be coated with varying ratios of the two polymers to yield distinct properties.
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Magnetic nanoparticles can be used in targeted delivery of drugs, cellular tracking, medical imaging contrast agents, gene therapy agent administration, radiation, and novel approaches to treating hyperthermia, among many other applications in medicine.
Using a variety of characterization techniques, Nur Khalida Rahayu Zainon, Che Azurahanim Che Abdullah, and Mohd Basyaruddin Abdul Rahman of Universiti Putra Malaysia in Selangor, Malaysia, examined their coated nanoparticles. These methods included thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-Ray diffraction (XRD).
Various techniques are available to explore chemical structures in diverse ways, providing extensive and divergent information regarding the structural, optical, and magnetic characteristics of the coated MNPs.
The group has emphasized the ideal concentration ratios for coated MNPs and demonstrated how high coating concentrations might impair the ability of the nanoparticles to target capabilities. On the other hand, inadequate coating could lead the nanoparticles to aggregate unintentionally. Since the coating is not magnetic, there is a slight reduction in magnetic saturation in coated particles.
Nevertheless, the coatings confer various advantageous characteristics, including the ability to encase the magnetic nanoparticle in a biocompatible and protective shell and facilitate the attachment of therapeutics and functional biological agents in a manner that is not feasible with naked magnetic nanoparticles.
Considerations such as MNP type, nanoparticle form, manufacturing techniques, particle size distribution, biocompatibility, and particle-particle interactions will emerge as essential variables in their development for biomedical applications as the research evolves. The current study improves the understanding of MNP production and coating and provides important insights into their prospective applications in nanomedicine.
Journal Reference:
Zainon, N. K. R., et. al. (2023) Assessment of different organic coatings on magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications. International Journal of Nanotechnology. doi:10.1504/IJNT.2023.135810.
