MAGNETIC NANOPARTICLES FOR DRUG DELIVERY

Article History Nanoparticles can be defined as any particle that has at least one dimension in the nanometer scale - that is in the region of billionths of a meter. These materials differ from molecular or bulk species with their high surface areas and unique optical, magnetic, and electronic properties. The potential of magnetic Nanoparticles stems from the intrinsic properties of their magnetic cores combined with their drug loading capability and the biochemical properties that can be bestowed on them by means of a suitable coating. Here we review the problems and recent advances in the development of magnetic Nanoparticles for drug delivery, focusing particularly on the materials involved. Nanoparticles are submicron moieties (between 1 nm and 100 nm , although there are examples of Nanoparticles several hundreds of nanometers in size) made of inorganic or organic (e.g. polymeric) materials, which may or may not be biodegradable. Their importance relates to the fact that the characteristics of Nanoparticles are different from those of bulk materials of the same composition, which is mainly because of size effects, the magnetic and electronic properties, and the role played by surface phenomena as the size is reduced. Preparation methods for Nanoparticles generally fall into the category of so-called bottom-up methods, where nonmaterials are fabricated from atoms or molecules in a controlled manner that is thermodynamically regulated by means such as self-assembly. Some biomedical applications require core-shell magnetic Nanoparticles.