Multifunctional spinel ferrite nanoparticles for biomedical application

This chapter is organized into six major parts. The first part introduces the synthesis of transition metal-substituted cobalt ferrite nanoparticles, the use of citric acid (CA) as a chelating agent in the sol-gel method, and applications of spinel ferrite nanoparticles in biomedical fields. The second part provides an overview of the structure and magnetism of spinel ferrites. The third part examines the sol-gel synthesis of ceramic nanoparticles. The fourth part presents a summary of organic acid chelating agents, with special reference to CA. The fifth part looks at the preparation of cobalt ferrite and transition metal-substituted cobalt ferrite nanoparticles (Co0.5X0.5Fe2O4 with X = Cu, Zn, Mn and Ni) by sol-gel methods. The final section highlights the influence of transition metal substitution on the physical and antibacterial properties of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles. A discussion on the biocompatibility of spinel ferrite nanoparticles is presented.