Biocompatible Carbon-Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Both magnetic and carbon materials are known to humankind for many centuries, and both materials have played a pivotal role in both civilization as well as in technological development. Still, many researchers are fascinated about both the materials due to the unfolding of new properties and technologies. Many researchers have studied the combination of magnetic and carbon nanomaterials for biomedical applications. Currently, carbon-coated magnetic nanoparticles, with suitable surface functionalization, are widely used in many biomedical applications such as cancer tumor diagnosis and treatment. Magnetic nanoparticles core is coated with carbon shell, and the resultant core–shell nanoparticles show large specific surface area, superior chemical stability, excellent colloidal stability, and good hemo- and cytocompatibility which are essential for biomedical applications. This chapter systematically presents recent advances in such core–shell materials and their biomedical applications with suitable surface functionalization. The most widely used allotropes of carbon (fullerenes, carbon dots, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and porous carbon) in biomedical applications are presented with suitable magnetic materials and surface functionalization. These multifunctional materials have the potential to enhance: (a) MRI and florescent contrast image in tumor diagnosis, (b) drug loading capacity (>90%) in targeted drug delivery, rapid and controlled drug release under different pH conditions for chemotherapy, (c) enhance chemotherapy efficacy by adjuvant hyperthermia therapy. Hyperthermia is achieved by either photothermal therapy or magnetic hyperthermia therapy or a combination of both using suitable nanocomposite material. In a nutshell, this chapter summarizes the present-day research advances on carbon-encapsulated magnetic nanocomposites for MRI and fluorescent contrast imaging for tumor diagnosis, targeted drug delivery for cancer chemotherapy, and magnetic hyperthermia and photothermal therapy for adjuvant therapy.