Functionalization of magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Interest in utilizing magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical treatments originates from their external controllability of transportation and movement inside biological objects and magnetic heat generation. Advances in nanoparticle and nanotechnology enable us to produce magnetic nanoparticles of specific morphology and to engineer particle surfaces to manipulate their characteristics for specific applications. Intensive investigations and developments have been carried out in improving the quality of magnetic particles, regarding their size, shape, size distribution, their magnetism and their surface. The magnetic nanoparticles with appropriate surface chemistry can conjugate various biomaterials such as drugs, proteins, enzymes, antibodies, or nucleotides to be used for numerous in vivo applications including MRI contrast enhancement, immunoassay, hyperthermia, drug delivery, and cell separation. Here we review both the key technical principles of magnetic nanoparticle synthesis and the ongoing advancement of biomedical treatments using magnetic nanoparticles, specifically, the advancement in controlled drug delivery and hyperthermia.