High heating efficiency of interactive cobalt ferrite nanoparticles

Abstract

Cobalt ferrite nanoparticles (CFNPs) are emerging as a potential candidate for biomedical applications, such as magnetic hyperthermia therapy (MHT), due to their high saturation magnetisation (M S) and effective magnetic anisotropy constant (K eff) at the nanoscale. For MHT, heating efficiency depends considerably on applied AC magnetic field, particle diameter, and inter-particle interaction. Our study is aimed at developing a superparamagnetic nanosystem based on CFNPs with enhanced specific absorption rate (SAR) for advanced MHT. The CFNPs were synthesised using thermal decomposition of organometallic precursors. Transmission electron microscopy reveals a narrow size distribution of the CFNPs, with average particle sizes of 8 and 11 nm. Magnetic measurements showed high values of M S (~70 emu g−1) and K eff (2–3 × 106 erg cm−3). The ferromagnetic behaviour and strong interaction between particles at room temperature are also observed. Large SAR values of the CFNPs are achieved, which are superior to those reported previously in the literature. The high heating efficiencies of the present CFNPs make them a promising candidate for advanced MHT.