Characterization and Magnetic Properties of CoFe2O4 Nanoparticles Synthesized Under Gas Atmosphere: Effect of Ferrofluid Concentration on Hyperthermia Properties

Magnetic hyperthermia (MH) is a promising cancer treatment approach that utilizes magnetic nanoparticles with unique properties such as higher penetration depth and precise thermal control that make them effective for cancer treatment. In addition, the sensitivity of cancer cells to heat and role of magnetic nanoparticles proved to be very effective in combined treatments. Here, CoFe2O4 nanoparticles are synthesized using a co-precipitation method under gas atmosphere during the synthesis process. The characteristics and properties of the synthesized nanoparticles are investigated using XRD, FESEM, and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) analyses. The XRD results confirm the formation of cobalt nanoparticles. The FESEM investigations reveal that nanoparticles have uniform surface morphology and spherical shape. The VSM results show that the CoFe2O4 nanoparticles possess superparamagnetic properties as confirmed by FORC analysis. Under the gas atmosphere, saturation magnetization (Ms) and coercivity (Hc) of the CoFe2O4 nanoparticles are obtained as 41.5 emu/g and 34.1 Oe, respectively, while these values in the nanoparticles synthesized without the gas atmosphere are calculated as Ms = 33.8 emu/g and Hc = 42.3 Oe. The MH of the CoFe2O4 nanoparticles is measured by preparing concentrations of 1, 3, and 5 mg/ml of the nanoparticles under the magnetic field of 400 Oe at the frequency of 400 kHz. The results show that the highest MH is achieved at the concentration of 3 mg/ml, and the specific loss power (SLP) value is measured as 190.3 W/g. Overall, these findings confirm that the co-precipitation method is an effective approach to the synthesis of biocompatible CoFe2O4 nanoparticles which is in line with the results from MTT analysis, having desirable properties for various applications, especially for MH.