Electrochemical synthesis and magnetic properties of MFe_2O_4 (M = Fe, Mn, Co, Ni) nanoparticles for potential biomedical applications

Abstract

In this study, we evaluate the magnetic properties and cytotoxic effect of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) based on magnetite and Mn, Co and Ni ferrites, obtained by electrochemical synthesis. These nanoparticles have almost spherical shape and an mode size of 9 +/- 1 nm. The electrochemical synthesis produces a single crystallographic phase with a spinel-like structure in all cases. Magnetization saturation at room temperature varies with the composition of the ferrites from M_S (Fe_3O_4) > M_S (MnFe_2O_4) > M_S (CoFe_2O_4) > M_S (NiFe_2O_4). Ferrite MNPs present low magnetic remanence indicating a superparamagnetic-like response at room temperature. However, the different values of magnetic anisotropy and size produce variations in the values of coercivity and susceptibility of the ferrite MNPs. The cytotoxicity of the different ferrites was evaluated by internalizing MNP in HeLa cancer cells. Although magnetite and Mn ferrite present low toxicity for all the concentrations studied, significant cytotoxic effect were observed when incubating the cells with high concentration of Co and Ni ferrites.