Harnessing the biomedical properties of ferromagnetic α-Fe2O3 NPs with a plausible formation mechanism

Abstract Pure hematite (α-Fe2O3 NPs) phase of iron oxide NPs was successfully achieved by an in situ pH and calcination-temperature dependent simple chemical precipitation process by using ferric chloride precursor and ammonium hydroxide precipitant. XRD, FTIR, and FE-SEM data confirmed 700 °C and a pH value of 11as the optimized calcination temperature and pH value for the crystalline synthesis of nano α-Fe2O3 particles, respectively. FE-SEM and HR-TEM revealed finely spherical morphologies with an average size of (20–30 nm) with agglomerations. The metal-oxide phase formation of synthesized nanoparticles was identified via FTIR spectra. The specific surface area was calculated using BET N2 adsorption-desorption technique, which confirmed the mesoporous nature of α-Fe2O3 NPs with a surface area of 74.531 m2/g. The magnetization measurements revealed the weak ferromagnetic nature of α-Fe2O3 NPs at room temperature (RT). Haemocompatibility assays demonstrated that up to the concentration of 100 μg/mL synthesized particles are highly compatible with RBCs. Antibacterial assays confirmed potential bactericidal activity of α-Fe2O3 against gram-negative strains. The in-vitro MTT method was performed to check the cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner.