In
this work, we used Mössbauer spectroscopy as a new approach
for experimental quantification of the self-diffusion coefficient
(D
Mössbauer) and hydrodynamic (HD)
size of iron-containing nanoparticles (NPs) in complex crowded solutions,
mimicking cell cytoplasm. As a probe, we used 9 nm cobalt ferrite
NPs (CFNs) dispersed in solutions of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with
a volume fraction (φBSA) of 0–0.2. Our results
show that the broadening of Mössbauer spectra is highly sensitive
to the diffusion of CFNs, while when φBSA = 0.2,
the CFN-normalized diffusivity is reduced by 86% compared to that
of a protein-free solution. CFN colloids were also studied by dynamic
light scattering (DLS). Comparison of the experimental data shows
that DLS significantly underestimates the diffusion coefficient of
CFNs and, consequently, overestimates the HD size of CFNs at φBSA > 0, which cannot be attributed to the formation of
the
BSA monolayer on the surface of CFNs.