Improvement of Hyperthermia Properties of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles by Surface Coating
Marta Vassallo, Daniele Martella, Gabriele Barrera, Federica Celegato, Marco Coïsson, Riccardo Ferrero, Elena Sonia Olivetti, Adriano Troia, H. Sözeri, Camilla Parmeggiani, Diederik S. Wiersma, Paola Tiberto, Alessandra Manzin
Abstract
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Magnetic hyperthermia is an oncological therapy that exploits magnetic nanoparticles activated by radiofrequency magnetic fields to produce a controlled temperature increase in a diseased tissue. The specific loss power (SLP) of magnetic nanoparticles or the capability to release heat can be improved using surface treatments, which can reduce agglomeration effects, thus impacting on local magnetostatic interactions. In this work, Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles are synthesized via a coprecipitation reaction and fully characterized in terms of structural, morphological, dimensional, magnetic, and hyperthermia properties (under the Hergt–Dutz limit). Different types of surface coatings are tested, comparing their impact on the heating efficacy and colloidal stability, resulting that sodium citrate leads to a doubling of the SLP with a substantial improvement in dispersion and stability in solution over time; an SLP value of around 170 W/g is obtained in this case for a 100 kHz and 48 kA/m magnetic field.