Issue 21, 2023

Surfactant-driven optimization of iron-based nanoparticle synthesis: a study on magnetic hyperthermia and endothelial cell uptake

Abstract

This work examines the effect of changing the ratio of different surfactants in single-core iron-based nanoparticles with respect to their specific absorption rate in the context of magnetic hyperthermia and cellular uptake by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Three types of magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized by separately adding oleic acid or oleylamine or a mixture of both (oleic acid/oleylamine) as surfactants. A carefully controlled thermal decomposition synthesis process led to monodispersed nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution. Spherical-shaped nanoparticles were mainly obtained for those synthesized with oleic acid, while the shape changed upon adding oleylamine. The combined use of oleic acid and oleylamine as surfactants in single-core iron-based nanoparticles resulted in a substantial saturation magnetization, reaching up to 140 A m2 kg−1 at room temperature. The interplay between these surfactants played a crucial role in achieving this high magnetic saturation. By modifying the surface of the magnetic nanoparticles using a mixture of two surfactants, the magnetic fluid hyperthermia heating rate was significantly improved compared to using a single surfactant type. This improvement can be attributed to the larger effective anisotropy achieved through the modification with both (oleic acid/oleylamine). The mixture of surfactants enhances the control of interparticle distance and influences the strength of dipolar interactions, ultimately leading to enhanced heating efficiency. Functionalization of the oleic acid-coated nanoparticles with trimethoxysilane results in the formation of a core–shell structure Fe@Fe3O4, showing exchange bias (EB) associated with the exchange anisotropy between the shell and the core. The biomedical relevance of our synthesized Fe@Fe3O4 nanoparticles was demonstrated by their efficient uptake by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in a concentration-dependent manner. This remarkable cellular uptake highlights the potential of these nanoparticles in biomedical applications.

Graphical abstract: Surfactant-driven optimization of iron-based nanoparticle synthesis: a study on magnetic hyperthermia and endothelial cell uptake

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 7 2023
Accepted
27 9 2023
First published
04 10 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale Adv., 2023,5, 5859-5869

Surfactant-driven optimization of iron-based nanoparticle synthesis: a study on magnetic hyperthermia and endothelial cell uptake

K. Riahi, I. Dirba, Y. Ablets, A. Filatova, S. N. Sultana, E. Adabifiroozjaei, L. Molina-Luna, U. A. Nuber and O. Gutfleisch, Nanoscale Adv., 2023, 5, 5859 DOI: 10.1039/D3NA00540B

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