Formulation and characterization of a covalently coated magnetic nanogel

The aim of this study was to develop a novel method to encapsulate magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with polymer via covalent bonding, in order to increase the magnetic nanoparticle stability and ease the synthesis process. In this technique, silane coated MNPs act as a template for polymerization of the monomer N-isopropylacrylamide, (NIPA) via radical polymerization. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy indicated the size of the original MNP was approximately 10 nm, the silane-coated MNP was 40 nm and the NIPA silane-coated MNP was 100 +/- 10 nm. Chemical composition and chemical state analysis of NIPA MNPs by FTIR and XPS showed that the MNPs were actually encapsulated by silane and NIPA. Furthermore, the magnetic properties of different layers on the MNP, analyzed by SQUID, indicated a decrease in saturation magnetization for each layer. The results demonstrate the feasibility of encapsulation of the MNP with NIPA by means of silane covalent bonding. Future work will investigate the phase transition and biocompatibility properties of the NIPA-coated MNP for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications.