Nanomagnetic Materials in Medicine: Recent Developments in Imaging, Diagnostics and Therapy.

The Nel relaxation of magnetic nanoparticles (MNP), subject to alternating magnetic fields in solution, depends exponentially on the size of their magnetic core, whilst the complementary Brownian relaxation mechanism depends critically on their hydrodynamic volume Recent developments in the synthesis [3] and applications [4] of highly monodisperse and phase-pure magnetite nanoparticles, with negligible toxicity [5], and favorable biodistribution [6], allows for reproducible control of the former, even in "harsh" biological environments, enabling novel imaging With appropriate functionalization of the monodisperse cores, and utilizing the magnetic relaxation, it also allows for the development of sensitive, relaxation based assays