Production and characterization of magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles coated with PCL for biomedical applications

Abstract

Currently, magnetic nanoparticles are widely studied with regard to their application in cancer treatment. This study aims to show a straightforward strategy for the production of Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) with biocompatible surface modifications with polycaprolactone (PCL) for biomedical purposes. The effects of the polymer coating on the properties of magnetite were evaluated. Crystallinity, morphology, composition, hydrodynamic size and magnetic properties of the produced nanoparticles were analysed via X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Vibrating Sample Magnetometry (VSM), respectively. The proposed method produced nanoparticles of magnetite with an average size between 9 and 11 nm, with spherical morphology and superparamagnetic properties. Magnetization values were not compromised even when the highest amount of polymer was used in the surface modification. On the other hand, the coating resulted in the decrease of the hydrodynamic size of the composites, indicating greater colloidal stability when the polymer was present. The obtained nanoparticles showed maintenance of significant superparamagneticbehavior, even in the presence of PCL on their surface. This phenomenon would allow for their application as a further optimized vector in hyperthermia cancer treatment, controlled drug delivery and resonance imaging.