This paper presents the loading of chromenones, viz., flavanone, hesperetin, naringenin, coumarin 6 and coumarin 7 onto aminoethylamino-modified dextran-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide core-shell nanoparticles. The chemically modified iron oxide core-shell nanoparticles retain their superparamagnetic behaviour even upon chromenone loading. The accessibility of loaded chromenones to DNA for binding is analysed using UV-visible absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. b-Cyclodextrin is used as an aid to detect whether the chromenones are buried inside the aminoethylamino-modified dextran-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide core-shell nanoparticle shell or available on the surface to readily bind to the macromolecular target. The stoichiometry of the loaded chromenones with the b-cyclodextrin inclusion complex is 1 : 1 in all cases, except with naringenin which binds to two b-cyclodextrin molecules.Coumarin 7 shows a fluorescence quenching upon binding to calf thymus DNA. This study could improve the understanding of the mode of binding of small molecules loaded on magnetic nanoparticles to DNA.