ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the critical properties of magnetite nanoparticles and discuss their current status in nanotechnology with an emphasis on biomedical applications. It provides an exhaustive review of the tremendous works that have been done in this area. Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic mineral form of iron, oxide with the chemical formula Fe3O4, one of several iron oxides and a member of the spinel group. Magnetite has the spinel structure, with a cubic close-packed oxygen array, and iron in both fourfold and sixfold coordination. Magnetite has attracted attention because bulk Fe3O4 has a high Curie temperature of 850K and nearly full spin polarization at room temperature. Magnetite nanoparticles have been also been integrated into functional hybrid, and potentially multifunctional, structures. Magnetite nanoparticles have attracted a great deal of attention in the biomedical field owing to their magnetic properties, but also to their biocompatibility. Biomedical applications often require stringent control of the biointerfaces of the nanoparticles.
