We report the synthesis of a new multifunctional colloidal hybrid system consisting of thermoresponsive amphiphilic biocompatible poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) microgels loaded with hydrophobic superparamagnetic FePt nanoparticles (NPs). In a first step water swellable poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) microgels were mixed with hydrophobicly coated sub-10 nm, superparamagnetic FePt NPs in a tetrahydrofurane (THF) solution. In a second step, changing the surrounding solvent from THF to water forces the FePt NPs to migrate into the amphiphilic microgels. The new hybrid colloids (i) are colloidally stable in water and the thermo-responsive properties in terms of a volume phase transition is retained, (ii) exhibit superparamagnetic characteristics introduced by FePt NPs, (iii) show a drastically reduced cytotoxicity compared to water soluble FePt NP of similar size, as known from literature. This makes the new hybrid microgels suited e.g. as biocompatible containers for drug delivery or for imaging.
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