From multi-segmented to core/shell nanorods: morphology evolution in Fe-Au nanorods by tuning fabrication conditions.

Aiming to obtain hybrid magneto-plasmonic nanostructures, we have developed multisegmented and core/shell structured Fe-Au nanorods using template assisted electrochemical deposition. A facile method of tuning the growth pattern of multisegmented nanorods into core/shell structured is demonstrated. With a precise control of current density and deposition time, a brick-stacked wire like growth led to the formation of hollow nanotubes that could be further tuned to multilayered hollow nanotubes and core/shell structured nanorods. TEM imaging and STEM-EELS technique were used to explore the morphology, microstructure and the distribution of Au and Fe in the nanorods. The easy magnetization direction was found to be perpendicular to the nanorods' growth direction in the segmented nanorods. On the other hand, core/shell nanorods exhibited isotropic behavior. Our findings provide deeper insights into the fabrication of hybrid nanorods and the opportunity to tune the fabrication method to vary their morphology accordingly. Such studies will benefit design of hybrid nanorods with specific morphologies and physical properties and hence their integration into sensing, spintronics and other potential biomedical and technological applications.

Hyperthermia of Magnetically Soft-Soft Core-Shell Ferrite Nanoparticles.

Magnetically soft-soft MnFe2O4-Fe3O4 core-shell nanoparticles were synthesized through a seed-mediated method using the organometallic decomposition of metal acetyl acetonates. Two sets of core-shell nanoparticles (S1 and S2) of similar core sizes of 5.0 nm and different shell thicknesses (4.1 nm for S1 and 5.7 nm for S2) were obtained by changing the number of nucleating sites. Magnetic measurements were conducted on the nanoparticles at low and room temperatures to study the shell thickness and temperature dependence of the magnetic properties. Interestingly, both core-shell nanoparticles showed similar saturation magnetization, revealing the ineffective role of the shell thickness. In addition, the coercivity in both samples displayed similar temperature dependencies and magnitudes. Signatures of spin glass (SG) like behavior were observed from the field-cooled temperature-dependent magnetization measurements. It was suggested to be due to interface spin freezing. We observed a slight and non-monotonic temperature-dependent exchange bias in both samples with slightly higher values for S2. The effective magnetic anisotropy constant was calculated to be slightly larger in S2 than that in S1. The magnetothermal efficiency of the chitosan-coated nanoparticles was determined by measuring the specific absorption rate (SAR) under an alternating magnetic field (AMF) at 200-350 G field strengths and frequencies (495.25-167.30 kHz). The S2 nanoparticles displayed larger SAR values than the S1 nanoparticles at all field parameters. A maximum SAR value of 356.5 W/g was obtained for S2 at 495.25 kHz and 350 G for the 1 mg/mL nanoparticle concentration of ferrogel. We attributed this behavior to the larger interface SG regions in S2, which mediated the interaction between the core and shell and thus provided indirect exchange coupling between the core and shell phases. The SAR values of the core-shell nanoparticles roughly agreed with the predictions of the linear response theory. The concentration of the nanoparticles was found to affect heat conversion to a great extent. The in vitro treatment of the MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell line and HT-29 human colorectal cancer cell was conducted at selected frequencies and field strengths to evaluate the efficiency of the nanoparticles in killing cancer cells. The cellular cytotoxicity was estimated using flow cytometry and an MTT assay at 0 and 24 h after treatment with the AMF. The cells subjected to a 45 min treatment of the AMF (384.50 kHz and 350 G) showed a remarkable decrease in cell viability. The enhanced SAR values of the core-shell nanoparticles compared to the seeds with the most enhancement in S2 is an indication of the potential for tailoring nanoparticle structures and hence their magnetic properties for effective heat generation.

Role of Magnetite Nanoparticles Size and Concentration on Hyperthermia under Various Field Frequencies and Strengths.

Magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles were synthesized using the chemical coprecipitation method. Several nanoparticle samples were synthesized by varying the concentration of iron salt precursors in the solution for the synthesis. Two batches of nanoparticles with average sizes of 10.2 nm and 12.2 nm with nearly similar particle-size distributions were investigated. The average particle sizes were determined from the XRD patterns and TEM images. For each batch, several samples with different particle concentrations were prepared. Morphological analysis of the samples was performed using TEM. The phase and structure of the particles of each batch were studied using XRD, selected area electron diffraction (SAED), Raman and XPS spectroscopy. Magnetic hysteresis loops were obtained using a Lakeshore vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) at room temperature. In the two batches, the particles were found to be of the same pure crystalline phase of magnetite. The effects of particle size, size distribution, and concentration on the magnetic properties and magneto thermic efficiency were investigated. Heating profiles, under an alternating magnetic field, were obtained for the two batches of nanoparticles with frequencies 765.85, 634.45, 491.10, 390.25, 349.20, 306.65, and 166.00 kHz and field amplitudes of 100, 200, 250, 300 and 350 G. The specific absorption rate (SAR) values for the particles of size 12.2 nm are higher than those for the particles of size 10.2 nm at all concentrations and field parameters. SAR decreases with the increase of particle concentration. SAR obtained for all the particle concentrations of the two batches increases almost linearly with the field frequency (at fixed field strength) and nonlinearly with the field amplitude (at fixed field frequency). SAR value obtained for magnetite nanoparticles with the highest magnetization is 145.84 W/g at 765.85 kHz and 350 G, whereas the SAR value of the particles with the least magnetization is 81.67 W/g at the same field and frequency.

Synthesis of Graphene Oxide-Fe3O4 Based Nanocomposites Using the Mechanochemical Method and in Vitro Magnetic Hyperthermia.

The study presented in this work consists of two parts: The first part is the synthesis of Graphene oxide-Fe3O4 nanocomposites by a mechanochemical method which, is a mechanical process that is likely to yield extremely heterogeneous particles. The second part includes a study on the efficacy of these Graphene oxide-Fe3O4 nanocomposites to kill cancerous cells. Iron powder, ball milled along with graphene oxide in a toluene medium, underwent a controlled oxidation process. Different phases of GO-Fe3O4 nanocomposites were obtained based on the composition used for milling. As synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), alternating magnetic field (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, and a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Additionally, the magnetic properties required to obtain high SAR values (Specific Absorption Rate-Power absorbed per unit mass of the magnetic nanocomposite in the presence of an applied magnetic field) for the composite were optimized by varying the milling time. Nanocomposites milled for different extents of time have shown differential behavior for magneto thermic heating. The magnetic composites synthesized by the ball milled method were able to retain the functional groups of graphene oxide. The efficacy of the magnetic nanocomposites for killing of cancerous cells is studied in vitro using HeLa cells in the presence of an AC (Alternating Current) magnetic field. The morphology of the HeLa cells subjected to 10 min of AC magnetic field changed considerably, indicating the death of the cells.

NMR relaxation in systems with magnetic nanoparticles: a temperature study.

PURPOSE: To measure and model nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation enhancement due to the presence of gadolinium (Gd)-substituted Zn-Mn ferrite magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) at different temperatures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Relaxation rates were measured at 1.5 T using fast spin echo (FSE) sequences in samples of agarose gel doped with uncoated and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-coated Mn0.5 Zn0.5 Gd0.02 Fe1.98 O4 nanoparticles over the temperature range 8-58°C. Physical characterization of the MNPs synthesized using chemical coprecipitation included scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma (ICP), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and magnetometry. RESULTS: Relaxivity (in s(-1) mM(-1) Fe) for the uncoated and coated particles, respectively, increased as follows: from 2.5 to 3.2 and 0.4 to 0.7 for T1, while for T2 it increased from 162.3 to 253.7 and 59.7 to 82.2 over the temperature range 8-58°C. T2 data were fitted to the echo limited motional regime using one fitting parameter that reflects the degree of agglomeration of particles into a cluster. This parameter was found to increase linearly with temperature and was larger for the PEG-coated particles than the uncoated ones. CONCLUSION: The increase of 1/T2 with temperature is modeled successfully using echo limited motional regime where both diffusion of the protons and nanoparticle cluster size increase with temperature. Both transverse and longitudinal relaxation efficiencies are reduced by PEG coating at all temperatures. If prediction of relaxation rates under different particle concentrations and operating temperatures is possible then the use of MNP in temperature monitoring and hyperthermia applications may be achieved.

Evaluation of Antiproliferative Properties of CoMnZn-Fe2O4 Ferrite Nanoparticles in Colorectal Cancer Cells.

The PEG-coated ferrite nanoparticles Co0.2Mn0.6Zn0.2Fe2O4 (X1), Co0.4Mn0.4Zn0.2Fe2O4 (X2), and Co0.6Mn0.2Zn0.2Fe2O4 (X3) were synthesized by the coprecipitation method. The nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, Raman, VSM, XPS, and TEM. The magnetic hyperthermia efficiency (MH) was determined for PEG-coated nanoparticles using an alternating magnetic field (AMF). X2 nanoparticles displayed the highest saturation magnetization and specific absorption rate (SAR) value of 245.2 W/g for 2 mg/mL in a water medium. Based on these properties, X2 nanoparticles were further evaluated for antiproliferative activity against HCT116 cells at an AMF of 495.25 kHz frequency and 350 G strength, using MTT, colony formation, wound healing assays, and flow cytometry analysis for determining the cell viability, clonogenic property, cell migration ability, and cell death of HCT116 cells upon AMF treatment in HCT116 cells, respectively. We observed a significant inhibition of cell viability (2% for untreated control vs. 50% for AMF), colony-forming ability (530 cells/colony for untreated control vs. 220 cells/colony for AMF), abrogation of cell migration (100% wound closure for untreated control vs. 5% wound closure for AMF), and induction of apoptosis-mediated cell death (7.5% for untreated control vs. 24.7% for AMF) of HCT116 cells with respect to untreated control cells after AMF treatment. Collectively, these results demonstrated that the PEG-coated (CoMnZn-Fe2O4) mixed ferrite nanoparticles upon treatment with AMF induced a significant antiproliferative effect on HCT116 cells compared with the untreated cells, indicating the promising antiproliferative potential of the Co0.4Mn0.4Zn0.2Fe2O4 nanoparticles for targeting colorectal cancer cells. Additionally, these results provide appealing evidence that ferrite-based nanoparticles using MH could act as potential anticancer agents and need further evaluation in preclinical models in future studies against colorectal and other cancers.

Magnetic nanoparticles: surface effects and properties related to biomedicine applications.

Due to finite size effects, such as the high surface-to-volume ratio and different crystal structures, magnetic nanoparticles are found to exhibit interesting and considerably different magnetic properties than those found in their corresponding bulk materials. These nanoparticles can be synthesized in several ways (e.g., chemical and physical) with controllable sizes enabling their comparison to biological organisms from cells (10-100 µm), viruses, genes, down to proteins (3-50 nm). The optimization of the nanoparticles' size, size distribution, agglomeration, coating, and shapes along with their unique magnetic properties prompted the application of nanoparticles of this type in diverse fields. Biomedicine is one of these fields where intensive research is currently being conducted. In this review, we will discuss the magnetic properties of nanoparticles which are directly related to their applications in biomedicine. We will focus mainly on surface effects and ferrite nanoparticles, and on one diagnostic application of magnetic nanoparticles as magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents.

Engineering of nickel, cobalt oxides and nickel/cobalt binary oxides by electrodeposition and application as binder free electrodes in supercapacitors.

Cobalt oxide, nickel oxide and cobalt/nickel binary oxides were synthesised by electrodeposition. To fine tune composition of CoNi alloys, growth parameters including voltage, electrolyte pH/concentration and deposition time were varied. These produced nanomaterials were used as binder free electrodes in supercapacitor cells and tested using three electrode setup in 2 MKOH aqueous electrolyte. Cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge were used at different scan rates (5-100 mV/s) and current densities (1-10 A/g) respectively to investigate the capacitive behaviour and measure the capacitance of active material. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to analyse the resistive/conductive behaviours of these electrodes in frequency range of 100 kHz to 0.01 Hz at applied voltage of 10 mV. Binary oxide electrode displayed superior electrochemical performance with the specific capacitance of 176 F/g at current density of 1 A/g. This hybrid electrode also displayed capacitance retention of over 83% after 5000 charge/discharge cycles. Cell displayed low solution resistance of 0.35 Ω along with good conductivity. The proposed facile approach to synthesise binder free blended metal electrodes can result in enhanced redox activity of pseudocapacitive materials. Consequently, fine tuning of these materials by controlling the cobalt and nickel contents can assist in broadening their applications in electrochemical energy storage in general and in supercapacitors in particular.

Assessment of the Willingness of Radiologists and Radiographers to Accept the Integration of Artificial Intelligence Into Radiology Practice.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate radiologists' and radiographers' knowledge, perception, readiness, and challenges regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration into radiology practice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An electronically distributed cross-sectional study was conducted among radiologists and radiographers in the United Arab Emirates. The questionnaire captured the participants' demographics, qualifications, professional experience, and postgraduate training. Their knowledge, perception, organisational readiness, and challenges regarding AI integration into radiology were examined. RESULTS: There was a significant lack of knowledge and appreciation of the integration of AI into radiology practice. Organisations are stepping toward building AI implementation strategies. The availability of appropriate training courses is the main challenge for both radiographers and radiologists. CONCLUSION: The excitement of AI implementation into radiology practise was accompanied by a lack of knowledge and effort required to improve the user's appreciation of AI. The knowledge gap requires collaboration between educational institutes and professional bodies to develop structured training programs for radiologists and radiographers.

IMPACT OF RADIATION FIELD SIZE ON ABSORBED ORGAN DOSES IN NEONATES UNDERGOING CHEST RADIOGRAPHY IN AN ANTERIOR-POSTERIOR PROJECTION: A MONTE CARLO SIMULATION STUDY.

Electronic image cropping and poor collimation practices are used by some radiographers during paediatric radiography. Advantages of collimation should be investigated to disseminate convenient use among radiographers and create awareness. The aim of this study was to use Monte Carlo simulation to investigate the extent of the effect of collimation on the absorbed organ dose in neonates undergoing anterior-posterior chest examination. The minimum field size recommended by the European guidelines was calculated experimentally using a neonate phantom. A PCXMC version 2.0 simulation calculated the organ and effective doses at the minimum field size and at different field sizes. Increasing the field size by 1 cm in the head-to-feet direction increases the dose to the urinary bladder and prostate, whereas increasing the field size by 1 cm on all sides increases the dose to the upper limbs, ovaries, testicles and prostate. The use of an optimal field size reduces organ doses for neonates undergoing chest X-ray. Cropping X-ray images to reduce unnecessarily large field sizes results in unnecessary patient dosages and should be avoided. The primary beam should be restricted to expose only the area of interest, and image cropping should be discouraged.

Tailoring Interfacial Exchange Anisotropy in Hard-Soft Core-Shell Ferrite Nanoparticles for Magnetic Hyperthermia Applications.

Magnetically hard-soft core-shell ferrite nanoparticles are synthesized using an organometallic decomposition method through seed-mediated growth. Two sets of core-shell nanoparticles (S1 and S2) with different shell (Fe3O4) thicknesses and similar core (CoFe2O4) sizes are obtained by varying the initial quantities of seed nanoparticles of size 6.0 ± 1.0 nm. The nanoparticles synthesized have average sizes of 9.5 ± 1.1 (S1) and 12.2 ± 1.7 (S2) nm with corresponding shell thicknesses of 3.5 and 6.1 nm. Magnetic properties are investigated under field-cooled and zero-field-cooled conditions at several temperatures and field cooling values. Magnetic heating efficiency for magnetic hyperthermia applications is investigated by measuring the specific absorption rate (SAR) in alternating magnetic fields at several field strengths and frequencies. The exchange bias is found to have a nonmonotonic and oscillatory relationship with temperature at all fields. SAR values of both core-shell samples are found to be considerably larger than that of the single-phase bare core particles. The effective anisotropy and SAR values are found to be larger in S2 than those in S1. However, the saturation magnetization displays the opposite behavior. These results are attributed to the occurrence of spin-glass regions at the core-shell interface of different amounts in the two samples. The novel outcome is that the interfacial exchange anisotropy of core-shell nanoparticles can be tailored to produce large effective magnetic anisotropy and thus large SAR values.

PEG coating reduces NMR relaxivity of Mn(0.5)Zn(0.5)Gd(0.02)Fe(1.98)O4 hyperthermia nanoparticles.

PURPOSE: To investigate both T1 and T2 MR relaxation enhancement of Gd substituted Zn-Mn ferrite magnetic nanoparticles. Both uncoated and polyethylene glycol (PEG) coated particles were used. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Chemical co-precipitation was used to synthesize particles in the form Mn(0.5)Zn(0.5)Gd(0.2)Fe(1.98)O(4) suitable for hyperthermia applications. Physical characterization of the magnetic nanoparticles included SEM, TEM, ICP, and SQUID. T1 and T2 measurements were performed at 1.5 Tesla (T). RESULTS: The saturation magnetization was 12.86 emu/g while the particle's magnetic moment was 1.86 × 10(-19) J/T. The particle size increased due to coating, while 1/T1 and 1/T2 relaxivities (26°C) decreased from 2.5 to 0.7 and from 201.3 to 76.6 s(-1) mM(-1), respectively, at a magnetic field 1.5T. CONCLUSION: The reduction in both 1/T1 and 1/T2 is attributed to increased distance of closest approach between the protons and the magnetic core caused by the shielding provided by the high molecular weight PEG. 1/T2 data are compared with existing theoretical models using a modified radius that takes into account both possible agglomeration of the particles and increased inter-particle separation induced by PEG coating.

Tuning Easy Magnetization Direction and Magnetostatic Interactions in High Aspect Ratio Nanowires.

Cobalt nanowires have been synthesized by electrochemical deposition using track-etched anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) templates. Nanowires with varying spacing-to-diameter ratios were prepared, and their magnetic properties were investigated. It is found that the nanowires' easy magnetization direction switches from parallel to perpendicular to the nanowire growth direction when the nanowire's spacing-to-diameter ratio is reduced below 0.7, or when the nanowires' packing density is increased above 5%. Upon further reduction in the spacing-to-diameter ratio, nanowires' magnetic properties exhibit an isotropic behavior. Apart from shape anisotropy, strong dipolar interactions among nanowires facilitate additional uniaxial anisotropy, favoring an easy magnetization direction perpendicular to their growth direction. The magnetic interactions among the nanowires were studied using the standard method of remanence curves. The demagnetization curves and Delta m (Δm) plots showed that the nanowires interact via dipolar interactions that act as an additional uniaxial anisotropy favoring an easy magnetization direction perpendicular to the nanowire growth direction. The broadening of the dipolar component of Δm plots indicate an increase in the switching field distribution with the increase in the nanowires' diameter. Our findings provide an important insight into the magnetic behavior of cobalt nanowires, meaning that it is crucial to design them according to the specific requirements for the application purposes.

Impact of Eye and Breast Shielding on Organ Doses During Cervical Spine Radiography: Design and Validation of MIRD Computational Phantom.

Purpose: The study aimed to design and validate computational phantoms (MIRD) using the MCNPX code to assess the impact of shielding on organ doses. Method: To validate the optimized phantom, the obtained results were compared with experimental results. The validation of the optimized MIRD phantom was provided by using the results of a previous anthropomorphic phantom study. MIRD phantom was designed by considering the parameters used in the anthropomorphic phantom study. A test simulation was performed to compare the dose reduction percentages (%) between the experimental anthropomorphic phantom study and the MCNPX-MIRD phantom. The simulation was performed twice, with and without shielding materials, using the same number and locations of the detector. Results: The absorbed dose amounts were directly extracted from the required organ and tissue cell parts of output files. Dose reduction percentages between the simulation with shielding and simulation without shielding were compared. The highest dose reduction was noted in the thymus (95%) and breasts (88%). The obtained dose reduction percentages between the anthropomorphic phantom study and the MCNPX-MIRD phantom were highly consistent and correlated values with experimental anthropomorphic data. Both methods showed Relative Difference (%) ranges between 0.88 and 2.22. Moreover, the MCNPX-MIRD optimized phantom provides detailed dose analysis for target and non-target organs and can be used to assess the efficiency of shielding in radiological examination. Conclusion: Shielding breasts and eyes during cervical radiography reduced the radiation dose to many organs. The decision to not shield patients should be based on research evidence as this approach does not apply to all cases.

Specific Absorption Rate Dependency on the Co2+ Distribution and Magnetic Properties in CoxMn1-xFe2O4 Nanoparticles.

Mixed ferrite nanoparticles with compositions CoxMn1-xFe2O4 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0) were synthesized by a simple chemical co-precipitation method. The structure and morphology of the nanoparticles were obtained by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The average crystallite sizes decreased with increasing x, starting with 34.9 ± 0.6 nm for MnFe2O4 (x = 0) and ending with 15.0 ± 0.3 nm for CoFe2O4 (x = 1.0). TEM images show an edge morphology with the majority of the particles having cubic geometry and wide size distributions. The mixed ferrite and CoFe2O4 nanoparticles have an inverse spinel structure indicated by the splitting of A1g peak at around 620 cm-1 in Raman spectra. The intensity ratios of the A1g(1) and A1g(2) peaks indicate significant redistribution of Co2+ and Fe3+ cations among tetrahedral and octahedral sites in the mixed ferrite nanoparticles. Magnetic hysterics loops show that all the particles possess significant remnant magnetization and coercivity at room temperature. The mass-normalized saturation magnetization is highest for the composition with x = 0.8 (67.63 emu/g), while CoFe2O4 has a value of 65.19 emu/g. The nanoparticles were PEG (poly ethylene glycol) coated and examined for the magneto thermic heating ability using alternating magnetic field. Heating profiles with frequencies of 333.45, 349.20, 390.15, 491.10, 634.45, and 765.95 kHz and 200, 250, 300, and 350 G field amplitudes were obtained. The composition with x = 0.2 (Co0.2Mn0.8Fe2O4) with saturation magnetization 57.41 emu/g shows the highest specific absorption rate (SAR) value of 190.61 W/g for 10 mg/mL water dispersions at a frequency of 765.95 kHz and 350 G field strength. The SAR values for the mixed ferrite and CoFe2O4 nanoparticles increase with increasing concentration of particle dispersions, whereas for MnFe2O4, nanoparticles decrease with increasing the concentration of particle dispersions. SARs obtained for Co0.2Mn0.8Fe2O4 and CoFe2O4 nanoparticles fixed in agar ferrogel dispersions at frequency of 765.95 kHz and 350 G field strength are 140.35 and 67.60 W/g, respectively. This study shows the importance of optimizing the occupancy of Co2+ among tetrahedral and octahedral sites of the spinel system, concentration of the magnetic nanoparticle dispersions, and viscosity of the surrounding medium on the magnetic properties and heating efficiencies.

Quantification of blood velocity and flow rates in the uterine vessels using echo planar imaging at 0.5 Tesla.

PURPOSE: To measure uterine artery and vein blood velocity and flow rate profiles using MRI during normal pregnancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A two-shot velocity magnitude-encoded echo planar imaging (EPI) sequence is used at a magnetic field 0.5T. Data analysis procedures, necessary to overcome problems associated with low signal to noise ratio (SNR), and a spatial resolution comparable to the vessel size were used. RESULTS: The measured blood flow values averaged over nine volunteers for the mean velocity are 5.33 and 3.97 cm/s and for the unilateral flow rate are 203 and 274 mL/min (for the arteries and veins respectively). Values for the flow rate are consistent with ultrasound Doppler studies. Arterial velocity measurements are more pulsatile than venous ones and validation calculations performed on average velocity values would suggest that the nature of blood flow in the uterine vessels is laminar. CONCLUSION: This study presents the first report of noninvasive quantitative measurements of uterine artery and vein blood velocity and flow rate profiles using MRI during normal pregnancy. Consistent and reproducible measurements have been obtained by subject specific sequence optimization and data analysis procedures.

Chemically synthesized nanoparticles of iron and iron-carbides.

In this paper, we report a one-pot chemical synthesis technique for the preparation of iron and iron-carbide nanoparticles. Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and magnetometry were used as the main tools to identify the different phases of Fe-C present. The influence of experimental parameters on the structural and compositional properties of nanoparticles was investigated in detail. These particles show ferromagnetic behavior with room temperature coercivity higher than 300 Oe. The X-ray diffraction was complemented by Mössbauer spectroscopy and thermo-magnetic analysis. Remarkably, the carbon content in iron-carbide nanoparticles (carbon rich or carbon poor iron-carbides) can be modulated simply by varying the experimental conditions, like the reaction time, temperature and iron precursor concentration. Magnetic properties can be tailored based upon crystallographic structure and particles composition.

MRI Simulation Study Investigating Effects of Vessel Topology, Diffusion, and Susceptibility on Transverse Relaxation Rates Using a Cylinder Fork Model.

Brain vasculature is conventionally represented as straight cylinders when simulating blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast effects in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In reality, the vasculature is more complicated with branching and coiling especially in tumors. Diffusion and susceptibility changes can also introduce variations in the relaxation mechanisms within tumors. This study introduces a simple cylinder fork model (CFM) and investigates the effects of vessel topology, diffusion, and susceptibility on the transverse relaxation rates R2* and R2. Simulations using Monte Carlo methods were performed to quantify R2* and R2 by manipulating the CFM at different orientations, bifurcation angles, and rotation angles. Other parameters of the CFM were chosen based on physiologically relevant values: vessel diameters (~2‒10 µm), diffusion rates (1 × 10-11‒1 × 10-9 m2/s), and susceptibility values (3 × 10-8-4 × 10-7 cgs units). R2* and R2 measurements showed a significant dependence on the bifurcation and rotation angles in several scenarios using different vessel diameters, orientations, diffusion rates, and susceptibility values. The angular dependence of R2* and R2 using the CFM could potentially be exploited as a tool to differentiate between normal and tumor vessels. The CFM can also serve as the elementary building block to simulate a capillary network reflecting realistic topological features.

Magnetic Properties of Magnetic Nanoparticles for Efficient Hyperthermia.

Localized magnetic hyperthermia using magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) under the application of small magnetic fields is a promising tool for treating small or deep-seated tumors. For this method to be applicable, the amount of MNPs used should be minimized. Hence, it is essential to enhance the power dissipation or heating efficiency of MNPs. Several factors influence the heating efficiency of MNPs, such as the amplitude and frequency of the applied magnetic field and the structural and magnetic properties of MNPs. We discuss some of the physics principles for effective heating of MNPs focusing on the role of surface anisotropy, interface exchange anisotropy and dipolar interactions. Basic magnetic properties of MNPs such as their superparamagnetic behavior, are briefly reviewed. The influence of temperature on anisotropy and magnetization of MNPs is discussed. Recent development in self-regulated hyperthermia is briefly discussed. Some physical and practical limitations of using MNPs in magnetic hyperthermia are also briefly discussed.