Reactive nature of dopamine as a surface functionalization agent in iron oxide nanoparticles

Dopamine forms an initial structure coordinated to the surface of the iron oxide nanoparticle as a result of improved orbital overlap of the five-membered ring and a reduced steric environment of the iron complex. However, through transfer of electrons to the iron cations on the surface and rearrangement of the oxidized dopamine, a semiquinone is formed. Because of free protons in the system, oxygens on the surface are protonated, which allows for the Fe2+ to be released into the solution as a hydroxide. This released fragment of the nanoparticle will then eventually oxidize in air to a form of an iron(III) oxyhydroxide. All of the reported results demonstrate that the reactivity between Fe3+ and dopamine quickly facilitates the degradation of the nanoparticles. The energetic modeling studies substantiate our proposed decomposition mechanism and thus conclude that the use of dopamine as a robust anchor for iron oxide or iron oxide shell particles will not fulfill the need for stable ferrofluids in most biomedical applications.