Large specific absorption rates in the magnetic hyperthermia properties of metallic iron nanocubes

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that ferromagnetic iron nanocubes exhibit exceptionally high specific absorption rates in magnetic hyperthermia, highlighting their potential for efficient biomedical heating applications.

Contribution

The paper introduces a new method to quantify hyperthermia optimization and reports record-high absorption rates in iron nanocubes, emphasizing their promise for biomedical use.

Findings

16 nm nanocubes achieve 1690 W/g at 300 kHz and 66 mT

The specific losses-per-cycle are 5.6 mJ/g, surpassing other systems

Magnetic interactions influence the response, indicating room for optimization

Abstract

We report on the magnetic hyperthermia properties of chemically synthesized ferromagnetic 11 and 16 nm Fe(0) nanoparticles of cubic shape displaying the saturation magnetization of bulk iron. The specific absorption rate measured on 16 nm nanocubes is 1690+-160 W/g at 300 kHz and 66 mT. This corresponds to specific losses-per-cycle of 5.6 mJ/g, largely exceeding the ones reported in other systems. A way to quantify the degree of optimization of any system with respect to hyperthermia applications is proposed. Applied here, this method shows that our nanoparticles are not fully optimized, probably due to the strong influence of magnetic interactions on their magnetic response. Once protected from oxidation and further optimized, such nano-objects could constitute efficient magnetic cores for biomedical applications requiring very large heating power.