Iron oxide nanoparticles can be exploited in different aspect of biotechnology and biomedicine, such as platforms for drug delivery, contrast agents for imaging diagnosis or therapeutic probes for magnetic hyperthermia treatments.
Magnetoliposomes of around 200 nm containing 15 nm DMSA-coated magnetic NPs attached outside the lipid surface and DOX encapsulated inside have the ideal colloidal, magnetic, and heating properties to be used as a drug delivery system with remote control of the drug release by applying an AMF. We demonstrated that it is possible to control the spatial distribution of the NPs in the liposome by controlling the nanoparticle surface charge [Combined Magnetoliposome Formation and Drug Loading in One Step for Efficient Alternating Current-Magnetic Field Remote-Controlled Drug Release].
Particles around the monodomain–multidomain size exhibit larger heating efficiencies in the allowed alternating magnetic field and frequency range, which makes them useful for hyperthermia treatment. This is also the ideal size range for tomography imaging using the non-linear response of the magnetic particles. This technique, called MPI from ‘magnetic particle imaging’, has shown important advantages in resolution time and sensitivity.
Within the anisometric particles, nanodisks and nanorods of magnetite have been shown to induce mechanical damage of cancer cells, while cubes, nanorings and nanoflowers seems to be ideal heat mediators for magnetic hyperthermia. Magnetic nanoflowers, due to its spatial clustered configuration, which enables the superferrimagnetism, have also exhibited a great potentiality for MRI [Colloidal flower-shaped iron oxide nanoparticles:synthesis strategies and coatings].
