Feasibility of TEOS coated CoFe2O4 nanoparticles to a GMR biosensor agent for single molecular detection

Magnetic properties of 200 nm ferrimagnetic CoFe2O4 nanoparticles before and after coating with TEOS were explored and compared to soft ferrimagnetic MgFe2O4 nanoparticles (200 nm) to evaluate the feasibility as an in-vitro GMR SV (giant magnetoresistance spin-valve) biosensor agent for single molecular detection (SMD). It was found that the magnetic degradation (or variation) of TEOS coated CoFe2O4 and MgFe2O4 nanoparticles are dominantly affected by the chemical dispersion process, which is carried out in the oleic acid (OA), oleylamine (OL), or OA+OL surfactant, before starting major coating process. In addition, the TEOS coating thickness controlled by TEOS concentration and pH level in the buffer solution prominently influenced on the magnetic degradation of TEOS coated nanoparticles. According to the experimental analysis results, the magnetic degradation of TEOS coated nanoparticles is mainly attributed to the variation of particle dipole interaction caused by the degree of particle aggregation depending on TEOS coating process conditions. The TEOS coated CoFe2O4 nanoparticles exhibited a higher magnetic stability for a GMR biosensor agent, e.g., small variation of remnant magnetization, saturation magnetization and magnetic coercivity, than that of MgFe2O4 nanoparticles at the different coating process conditions. The physical and chemical analysis confirmed that this is primarily due to its higher magnetic anisotropy. The experimentally verified high biocompatibility as well as the stably maintained magnetic properties of TEOS coated CoFe2O4 nanoparticles demonstrate that CoFe2O4 nanoparticles can be considered as one of the promising ferrimagnetic nanoparticle sensor agent for an SMD GMR SV biosensor.