Synthesis of functionalized, dispersible carbon-coated cobalt nanoparticles for potential biomedical applications

Ferromagnetic carbon-coated cobalt nanoparticles have been ligated by a covalent or non-covalent strategy with dendrons or polymers bearing amino-, hydroxy- or polyether-functionalities, aiming at synthesizing materials that are dispersible in aqueous solutions, being a prerequisite for applications in biomedicine. Most efficiently for this purpose proved to be a covalently anchored polyethyleneimine (PEI) with a loading of approximately 10 mmol of amino groups per gram of hybrid nanomaterial, resulting in dispersions that are stable in water for several days.