Magnetite nanoparticles for biomedical applications are typically prepared using the coprecipitation technique, which is the most convenient method. However, the reaction pathways leading to the production of the magnetite phase in the coprecipitation reaction are not fully understood, despite the fact that the reaction path may be of significant importance in controlling the crystal structure, morphology, and particle size of the magnetite nanoparticles.In the present study, we identified the reaction pathways in the coprecipitation of magnetite; when base was slowly added to an iron chloride solution, akaganeite nucleated and transformed through goethite to magnetite. At high addition rates, an additional pathway in which ferrous hydroxide nucleated and transformed through lepidocrocite to magnetite competed with the former pathway. This difference was due to the pH inhomogeneity in the reaction medium that was present before homogeneous mixing. In most coprecipitation reactions, these magnetite formation pathways coexist, but the dominant process is the topotactic transformation of goethite to magnetite, mediated by arrow-shaped nanoparticles. The morphology of the arrow-shaped nanoparticles was explained on the basis of specific crystallographic relationships among the iron oxide phases. The proposed reaction scheme for magnetite coprecipitation could assist in devising a more detailed study of the reaction mechanism.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles are widely used as nanoprobes for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Water-soluble iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by coating iron oxide nanoparticles with a hydrophilic, biocompatible, biodegradable poly(amino acid) derivative, poly(2-hydroxyethyl aspartamide) graft copolymer for negative contrast enhancement on T2 weighted MRI. HER2/neu antibodies were conjugated on the surface of poly(amino acid) coated iron oxide nanoparticles for the detection of breast cancer. The antibody-grafted iron oxide nanoparticles (PAION-Ab) were about 31.1 nm in diameter. The T2 relaxivity of PAION-Ab was 246 L·mmol(-1)·sec(-1) greater than that of the commercial product such as Feridex. PAION-Ab showed low cytotoxicity even at relatively high concentrations. Furthermore, Prussian blue staining and in vitro MRI study with SKBR-3, breast cancer cells overexpressing HER2/neu receptors indicated that PAION-Ab exhibited excellent cancer cell detection ability and enhanced signal intensities in the T2-weighted image.

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