Preparation and structural and magnetic investigation of metal and bimetallic Fe nanoparticles as potential drug carrier vehicles

Abstract

The aim of this project is the investigation of iron oxide as carriers of biomolecules with potential applications in cancer cells. For that, we intended to synthesize magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) by the co-precipitation method of Fe3+ and Fe2+ salts in aqueous media and by the thermal decomposition of iron coordination compounds, besides recovering these materials surface with hydrophilic and biocompatible ligands such as dimethylsuccinic acid (DMSA), allowing the interaction of these vehicles with bioactive molecules. It is also intended to synthesize Fe-Au bimetallic nanoparticles with core-shell morphologies and with a size distribution between 4 and 30 nm in the solid state. The main purpose to obtain these nanoparticles is to use the magnetic monodomain feature that they present (superparamagnetism), to be guided by external magnetic field to a specific target. Structural and magnetic characterization will be performed, as well as cytotoxic assays in healthy cells. The structural, morphological and magnetic characterization, the efficiency of functionalization of ligand on the surface of nanoparticles, measurements of hydrodynamic radius and zeta potential will be carried out using different techniques. Cytotoxicity assays of these systems will be made in healthy (mononuclear fraction) and tumor cells (breast cancer cells) culture.