Ligand exchange procedure for bimetallic magnetic iron-nickel nanocrystals toward biocompatible activities

Bimetallic magnetic iron-nickel (FeNi) nanocrystals (NCs) were synthesized through a one-pot synthetic wet chemistry method, and the morphology of the resulting NCs can be adjusted by changing the molar ratio of chemical attendees during the experimental processes. The obtained FeNi NCs can be redispersed in water medium though the phase works by using the ligand exchange procedures of cysteine (Cys), 5-aminovaleric acid (5AA), and glutathione (GSH), respectively. The synthesized NCs exhibited excellent magnetic properties with Hc (magnetic fields, ≈10(-3) T) and μa (initial permeability of up to 10(5)). Furthermore, linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) polarization curves revealed a low overpotential of -0.47, -0.44, and 0.15 V and a current of 105.7, 97.8, and 209 mA for the Cys-, 5AA-, and GSH-FeNi NCs, respectively. This indicated a relatively high catalytic activity of these NCs in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The different cell lines (AGS, HepG2, MG63, NCI-H460, and SK-MEL-2) exposed to FeNi NCs for 5 days exhibited >87% viability at concentrations of up to 50 μg mL(-1), which was indicative of excellent biocompatibility. The resulting FeNi NCs offer a facile synthetic route to fabricate monodispersed NCs. The biocompatibility of these NCs should also enable their application in electrocatalysis and biological applications.