Abstract
We report a synthetic method for small and uniform Fe3O4 (magnetite) nanoparticles under mild conditions. Spherical sub-3 nm-sized magnetite nanoparticles were prepared via reverse micelles composed of oleylamine, F127, xylene, and water for the reaction of iron(III) stearate with hydrazine at a reaction temperature of 90 °C in air atmosphere. These synthesized magnetite nanoparticles exhibited good size uniformity. By controlling experimental conditions, we could easily control both size and size uniformity of these magnetite nanoparticles. We further investigated whether Fe3O4 could be used in biomedical applications. Cytotoxicity of Fe3O4 was evaluated with human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs). Our results showed that the number of hADSCs did not significantly decrease when these cells were treated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles at a concentration of up to 9 μg/mL. Apoptotic activity and cell proliferation of hADSCs treated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles were similar to those of hADSCs without any treatment. This novel method could be used for synthesizing uniform and biocompatible Fe3O4 nanoparticles with further biomedical applications.
Highlights
Small nanoparticles with sizes of less than 5 nm have received enormous attention from both scientific and industrial areas due to their specific size-dependent magnetic, optical, electrical, and catalytic characteristics that their bulk counterparts do not possess [1,2,3,4]
Sub-3 nm-sized magnetite nanoparticles were synthesized by reacting hydrazine with Fe(III)
Stearate with hydrazine in reverse micelles composed of oleylamine, F127, xylene, and water at a reaction temperature of 90 °C in air atmosphere
Summary
Small nanoparticles with sizes of less than 5 nm have received enormous attention from both scientific and industrial areas due to their specific size-dependent magnetic, optical, electrical, and catalytic characteristics that their bulk counterparts do not possess [1,2,3,4]. Magnetic iron (Fe) oxide nanoparticles exhibit superparamagnetism by the Neel and Brown relaxation effect induced by thermal fluctuation when their sizes are decreased [5,6,7,8]. These ultra-small iron oxide nanoparticles with sizes of less than 5 nm have been used as highly sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Size uniformity has received attention because the superparamagnetic properties of small iron oxide nanoparticles strongly depend on their sizes [9]. It remains a great challenge to develop a simple and reliable route to synthesize small and uniform iron oxide nanoparticles under mild reaction conditions
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