Magnetic nanoparticles for environmental and biomedical applications: A review

Abstract Engineered magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) hold great potential in environmental, biomedical, and clinical applications owing to their many unique properties. This contribution provides an overview of iron oxide MNPs used in environmental, biomedical, and clinical fields. The first part discusses the use of MNPs for environmental purposes, such as contaminant removal, remediation, and water treatment, with a focus on the use of zero-valent iron, magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ), and maghemite (γ-Fe 2 O 3 ) nanoparticles, either alone or incorporated onto membrane materials. The second part of this review elaborates on the use of MNPs in the biomedical and clinical fields with particular attention to the application of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), which have gained research focus recently owing to their many desirable features such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, ease of synthesis and absence of hysteresis. The properties of MNPs and their ability to work at both cellular and molecular levels have allowed their application in vitro and in vivo including drug delivery, hyperthermia treatment, radio-therapeutics, gene delivery, and biotherapeutics. Physiochemical properties such as size, shape, and surface and magnetic properties as well as agglomeration of MNPs and methods to enhance their stability are also discussed.