Research and development of medical magnetic nanomaterials

Abstract

Medical magnetic nanomaterials refer to magnetic nanomaterials owning specific biological effects and therapeutic functions which are promising in clinical medicine. A good case in this point is the iron-based magnetic nanomaterials. As the only inorganic nanomaterials approved by FDA for clinical use, iron oxide nanoparticles play a vital role in fundamental research and clinical application of nanomedicine. This feature article mainly focused on the state-of-art of iron oxide nanoparticles on the basis of our own works. The following sections were included in this feature article: Preparation and magnetic property, biological effects, assembly and future development, which was intended to clarify the particularity, importance and complexity of magnetic nanomaterials applied in clinical medicine. Although thermal decomposition method can get iron oxide nanocrystals with better morphology, coprecipitation method is more suitable for the use in clinic. This issue will be emphasized. Superparamagnetism is a prominent advantage of magnetic nanomaterials for medical applications, which is closely related to their size and morphology. The biological effects of iron oxide nanoparticles are versatile and can be regulated by chemical composition, morphology and surface modification. In recent years, some new biological effects of iron oxide nanoparticles still have been found, such as the enzymatic effect. Another outstanding property of magnetic nanomaterials is that the collective property can be regulated by control of assembled structures and interactions between the nanoparticles without changing the property of monomers. Here, the magnetic field-controlled assembly of magnetic nanoparticles and the property regulation will be discussed in detail. In the future, we should firstly further investigate the synthesis of medical magnetic nanomaterials of high performance and expand the clinical applicability. Certainly, the new clinical nanodrugs should be developed. Then, the biological effects of magnetic nanomaterials in the presence of magnetic field should be explored deeply, from which we may discover some new paradigms for the clinic. Finally, the novel characterization techniques and strategies for diagnosis and treatment should be developed. We believe the magnetic nanomaterials will make the society more glorious. medical magnetic nanomaterials, biological effects, magnetic field, theranostics

Application of magnetic iron oxide nanomaterials in tumor imaging

“…, 当尺寸小于约某一临界尺寸(通常 为15 nm)时, 在室温下变为超顺磁性. 这意味着可以借 助磁性铁氧化物纳米材料的超顺磁性实现外磁场介导 下的对体内磁性铁氧化物纳米材料的行为调控, 且撤 去外磁场后该纳米材料仍能保持该材料原有性质 [11] .…”