ADVANTAGES OF OUR FERROFLUIDS
Some major drawbacks for the use of the ferrofluids in biomedical applications remain the limited solubility of the particles in physiological fluids at various pH values, low stability of the colloidal solutions and the lack of uniformity in size and shape of the particles.Our technology allows to surmount all these impediments because our ferrofluids:
- consist of nearly monodisperse, non-aggregated nanoparticles with sizes which can be varied in a wide range
-are manufactured at large scale through a rapid, simple, patent pending and proprietary integrated “green” chemistry synthetic concept
-are highly stable in aqueous solution and do not necessitate laboroius surface functionalization methodologies
- present excellent magnetic performances
- are highly biocompatible
- possess a high surface reactivity which results in a high tunability of their solubility in both polar/non-polar solvents
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Transmission electron micrograph of magnetite nanoparticles
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Self-assembly of 10nm magnetite nanoparticles
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Our ferrofluids are clear liquids ranging in color from light amber to dark red. They are water soluble and stable over a wide pH range (pH=2-12) and may be further diluted or concentrated with water or water miscible solvents with no loss in stability. When dried, the ferrofluids may be reconstituted by the addition of water or other solvents. When subjected to an external magnetic force, our ferrofluids are strongly attracted by the magnet line forces and they DO NOT SEGREGATE from the suspension. Upon mixing them with suitable chemicals, the ferrofluids can be used to form free-standing or substrated transparent magnetic films. Stable ferrofluids in non-aqueous solvents show similar properties and are also available.
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Ferrofluid being attracted by the magnet. The magnetic interaction is so strong that it overcomes the gravitational force and the ferrofluid "is floating".
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We also manufacture magnetite/gold nanocomposites prepared through a feasible, rapid and highly reproducible approach. The attached gold particles provide chemically active sites on the surface of the magnetite nanocrystals, enabling their potential derivatization with different multifunctional organic molecules for various in-vivo biomedical tests. The nanocomposite materials can serve as a platform new potential routes for the functionalization of these nano-ensembles and their further manipulation in specific biochemical applications.
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