Radio frequency plasma assisted surface modification of Fe3O4 nanoparticles using polyaniline/polypyrrole for bioimaging and magnetic hyperthermia applications

Beena Mol,M Junaid Bushiri,Ramapurath S Jayasree,Ansar Ereath Beeran,M R Anantharaman,Prasad S Jayaram,Baby Chakrapani,Prabha Prakash,Senoy Thomas

doi:10.1007/s10856-021-06563-1

Abstract

Surface modification of superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles using polymers (polyaniline/polypyrrole) was done by radio frequency (r.f.) plasma polymerization technique and characterized by XRD, TEM, TG/DTA and VSM. Surface-passivated Fe3O4 nanoparticles with polymers were having spherical/rod-shaped structures with superparamagnetic properties. Broad visible photoluminescence emission bands were observed at 445 and 580 nm for polyaniline-coated Fe3O4 and at 488 nm for polypyrrole-coated Fe3O4. These samples exhibit good fluorescence emissions with L929 cellular assay and were non-toxic. Magnetic hyperthermia response of Fe3O4 and polymer (polyaniline/polypyrrole)-coated Fe3O4 was evaluated and all the samples exhibit hyperthermia activity in the range of 42–45 °C. Specific loss power (SLP) values of polyaniline and polypyrrole-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles (5 and 10 mg/ml) exhibit a controlled heat generation with an increase in the magnetic field.

Highlights

Magnetic, optical, semiconducting and biocompatible properties of magnetite (Fe3O4) are tunable, which make it as a promising candidate for magnetic resonance imaging, targeted drug delivery and cancer therapy [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
Polyaniline and polypyrrole-coated Fe3O4 shows diffraction peaks at the same position as that of Fe3O4 with slight changes in its intensity. This observation indicates that surface modification of iron oxide nanoparticles by r.f. plasma
The observed degradation at 66 °C of PANI-coated Fe3O4 and at 91 °C of polypyrrole-coated Fe3O4 is due to the escape of adsorbed water molecules similar to that of Fe3O4

Summary

Introduction

Optical, semiconducting and biocompatible properties of magnetite (Fe3O4) are tunable, which make it as a promising candidate for magnetic resonance imaging, targeted drug delivery and cancer therapy [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Controlling the particle size and subsequent surface modification to achieve a core-shell nanostructure makes it a synergetic multifunctional material for imaging and as a therapeutic agent in cancer therapy [8,9,10,11]. Previous studies reported the use of cross-linked polymers as a surface coating for Fe3O4 nanoparticles, which resulted in the modification of its magnetic, optical and physical properties [13, 14]

Methods

Results

Conclusion