Polyol Synthesized Fe₃O₄ Magnetic Nanoparticles for Hyperthermia: Correlation With Physiological Media and Incubation Time

Physiological media and incubation time plays vital role in ensuring nanomedicines efficacy, safety, and biocompatibility in cancer treatments. This study evaluates the potential of synthesized Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (IONPs) in different physiological media for their application in magnetic hyperthermia therapy. The distinct self-heating properties of IONPs in distilled water (DW), normal saline (NS), and phosphate-buffered solution (PBS) were assessed, as these solvents exhibit similarities to human blood and internal cellular environments. Spherical IONPs have been synthesized by polyol method. The stability of these synthesized nanoparticles is studied using zeta potential measurements, and the surface potentials of −11.5 mV for DW, −11.7 mV for PBS, and −19 mV for NS were obtained. Magnetic properties are determined using a vibration sample magnetometer showed hysteresis loop with minimal coercivity, suggesting superparamagnetic behavior. The magnetization obtained is 52.2 ± 3.2 emu/g. Under an alternating magnetic field, IONPs incubated in NS demonstrated better heating performance compared to DW and PBS suspension, due to superior colloidal dispersion than others. Maximum temperature rise of 56.4 ± 3.5°C and specific loss power of 209.2 W/g at minimal IONPs concentrations were obtained for IONPs-NS formulation. This study highlights the significant influence of media and incubation time on the physico-chemical properties of IONPs.