Obtention of magnetite nanoparticles via the hydrothermal method and effect of synthesis parameters

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been widely studied for their properties and applications in the fields of electronics and medicine. Hydrothermal synthesis, in which the reaction parameters are extremely important because they influence the product characteristics, properties, and final applications, is an existing method for producing nanomaterials. Therefore, in this study, hydrothermal syntheses were performed to obtain nanomagnetite by varying the temperature, reaction time, and molar ratio, and their influences on the product particle size were analyzed using statistical analysis. The products were characterized in terms of composition and purity.Tthe purest samples were obtained at a reaction temperature of 214 celcius and the longest reaction time of 6 h, with 96 % purity for the tests with a higher magnetite content. All syntheses produced products with particles on the nanometer scale. The purest magnetite samples exhibited an average hydrodynamic diameter of 220 nm and ferromagnetic behavior. Statistical analysis revealed that the reaction time was the only statistically significant parameter influencing magnetite particle size, with smaller sizes at longer reaction times. The cytotoxicity of MNPs was evaluated in non-tumor cells (NIH3T3 and RAW 264.7). Human erythrocytes did not exert any cytotoxic effects on non-tumor cells, indicating that MNPs are promising drug delivery systems.