Characterization and Trypan blue exclusion cytotoxicity of Si/CuFe2O4 NPs

Silica-coated CuFe2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by the conventional stöber process. Tetragonal structure of CuFe2O4 was retained even after silica coating with crystallite size∼14.8 nm. A small characteristic broad hump was observed in the XRD spectrum in the range 20-25°, due to the presence of amorphous silica. Spherical formation of nanoparticles and presence of silica were also confirmed by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) as well as Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Cell-Viability (%) values of uncoated and silica-coated nanoparticles, as analyzed by Trypan blue exclusion assay on C6 cells were obtained to be 67.7% and 72.5%. Effect of silica coating on the optical properties was studied at different concentrations of silica. In UV-Vis plots, the maximum absorbance was obtained at ∼970 nm with energy band gap of ∼1.16 eV and ∼1.19 eV. Silica enhanced the biocompatibility of copper ferrite nanoparticles, thus making them a promising tool for biomedical applications.