Russian chemists have developed a non-toxic, water-based fluid containing stable cobalt-iron nanoparticles. This material heats up rapidly in a magnetic field and can accelerate oxidative reactions, acting much like the natural enzyme peroxidase. According to the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) press service, this makes the fluid suitable for medical diagnostics and the targeted destruction of tumors.
“While many similar magnetic materials exist, ours stands out due to its simple chemical composition, which makes it easy to work with. Such highly stable nanoparticle solutions could replace expensive enzymes in the creation of biosensors or MRI contrast agents, and could also be used to develop devices requiring thin magnetic layers,” explained Andrey Drozdov, a senior researcher at Sirius University, as quoted by the RSF press service.
Scientists note that chemists and materials scientists worldwide are actively developing various magnetic fluids based on metal or metal-oxide nanoparticles that respond to magnetic fields. These fluids enable targeted drug delivery within the patient’s body, tumor destruction, and solutions to other medical, engineering, and physical challenges.
However, the widespread use of magnetic fluids is currently hindered by the tendency of their constituent particles—made of iron, cobalt, their alloys, or other magnetic materials—to clump together. While special coatings could theoretically prevent this, many are toxic to humans or compromise the nanoparticles’ properties, preventing scientists from modifying their surface structure and characteristics.
Russian researchers have developed a method to produce non-toxic nanoparticles from a mixture of cobalt and iron oxides. These particles are protected against clumping because their surfaces acquire a positive charge when placed in a neutral or alkaline aqueous environment. This creates a protective shell that causes the nanostructures to repel one another, preventing them from clumping together.
Subsequent experiments enabled the scientists to determine the optimal ratio of cobalt to iron, maximizing both the nanoparticles’ heating response to a magnetic field and the acceleration of oxidative reactions. The researchers concluded that this would allow such nanostructures to be used for targeted tumor therapy, as well as for the development of various biosensors and highly sensitive diagnostic test systems for cancer and infectious diseases.
About the Author
