Surface modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles: A cross-linked polyethylene glycol coating using plasma treatment

To enhance the efficiency of Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs), a series of surface modified polyethylene glycol (PEG) coated NPs were prepared by RF plasma. The purpose of this research paper was to synthesize magnetic NPs with cross-linked PEG coating using plasma treatment. We found the optimal values for plasma power (50W) and the polymer concentration are 50W and 5mM respectively. The experimental results showed that after plasma treatment, the aggregation of the NPs decreased and the colloidal stability increased significantly. As a result of the plasma treatment, a rigid surface with fewer pores was generated on the NPs. The temperature stability of the coated NPs in the colloid system was examined inthe presence of an AC magnetic field, which showed an increase after the plasma treatment. To investigate reduction of the burst effect due to coating, an anticancer drug, Tamoxifen, was incorporated into NPs. The results showed that the cross-linking of the NPs coating by plasma reduced the burst effect by 32%.Our results suggest that the surface modification of the PEG coated Fe3O4 NPs, using plasma treatment, is a suitable approach for medical applications, such as magnetic hyperthermia, drug delivery, and magnetic resonance imaging.