Differential magnetic catch and release: analysis and separation of magnetic nanoparticles

This article reports the purification and separation of magnetic nanoparticle mixtures using differential magnetic catch and release (DMCR). This method applies a variable magnetic flux orthogonal to the flow direction in an open tubular capillary to trap and controllably release magnetic nanoparticles. Magnetic moments of 8, 12, and 17 nm diameter CoFe2O4 nanoparticles are calculated using the applied magnetic flux and experimentally determined force required to trap 50% of the particle sample. Balancing the relative strengths of the drag and magnetic forces enables separation and purification of magnetic CoFe2O4 nanoparticle samples with <20 nm diameters. Samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy to determine the average size and size dispersity of the sample population. DMCR is further demonstrated to be useful for separation of a magnetic nanoparticle mixture, resulting in samples with narrowed size distributions.