Oxide nanomagnets, their properties and interactions with biological systems

The project is concerned with the development and applications of novel magnetic nanoparticles (MN) of substituted magnetite and epsilon-Fe2O3 in biophysical and biomedical research. It aims at contrast increase in MRI, cell internalisation of MN, and optimalisation of parameters for magnetic manipulation. Doped epsilon-Fe2-xMxO3 and Fe3-xMxO4 (M=Ga, Zn, Al, etc.), will be prepared as magnetic cores of various size distributions and shapes, and their magnetic behaviour will be thoroughly analysed. The biochemical properties of MN will be adjusted by coating that will suppress their toxicity and degradability and increase their colloidal stability and provide them with fluorescence. We shall study the effect of magnetic parameters and aggregation of MN cores on MRI contrast and magnetic manipulation of labelled cells. Cytotoxicity and cell internalisation of MN will be investigated with respect to their chemical composition, size, shape, and surface properties. The optimized products will eventually be employed in advanced in vivo studies aimed at magnetic transport and MRI detection.