PEO coated magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical application

This paper reports on the preparation, characterization and stealthiness of superparamagnetic nanoparticles (magnetite Fe3O4) with a 5 nm diameter and stabilized in water (pH ⩾ 6.5) by a shell of water-soluble poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) chains. Two types of diblock copolymers, i.e., poly(acrylic acid)-b-poly(ethylene oxide), PAA–PEO, and poly(acrylic acid)-b-poly(acrylate methoxy poly(ethyleneoxide)), PAA–PAMPEO, were prepared as stabilizers with different compositions and molecular weights. At pH ⩾ 6.5, the negatively ionized PAA block interacts strongly with the positively-charged nanoparticles, thus playing the role of an anchoring block. Aggregates of coated nanoparticles were actually observed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The hydrodynamic diameter was in the 50–100 nm range and the aggregation number (number of nanoparticles per aggregate) was lying between several tens and hundred. Moreover, the stealthiness of these aggregates was assessed “in vitro” by the hemolytic CH50 test. No response of the complement system was observed, such that biomedical applications can be envisioned for these magnetic nanoparticles. Preliminary experiments of magnetic heating (10 kA/m; 108 kHz) were performed and specific absorption rate varied from 2 to 13 W/g(Fe).