Synthesis and Characterization of Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4@mSiO2 Core Shell Nanocarrier for Drug Delivery Applications

Abstract

Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4@mesoporousSiO2 (NZF@mSiO2) core shell nanocarrier was synthesized by sol–gel method using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and characterized for different physicochemical properties. The structural and morphological properties were studied by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) techniques. XRD pattern and TEM micrographs confirm the coexistence of Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 and SiO2 phases in the nanocomposites. Average crystallite size of Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 NPs was found to be around ~21 nm. Particles size of NZF@mSiO2 measured by TEM and FESEM are found to be ~200–400 nm. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) results confirm successful formation of NZF@mSiO2 core shell nanocomposites having well symmetric structure and ellipsoidal shape. HRTEM analysis confirmed the presence of pores (5–10 nm) on the surface of SiO2 nanosphere. Magnetic properties of NZF@mSiO2 nanocarriers were studied by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) technique. NZF@mSiO2 nanocarriers were found to be super-paramagnetic in nature with negligible coercivity and remanent magnetization. The Ms value for NZF@mSiO2 was found to be 9.5 emu/gm.