Synthesis, surface architecture and biological response of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for application in drug delivery: a review

The biological and medical applications of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) are increasing fast. Therefore, the reduction of toxicity of SPION, by using various surface coatings, has become a main research area. This review article presents a summary of recent research and data on well-characterised SPION with different surface coatings (dextran, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyethylene glycol (PEG), polyethylene glycol fumarate (PEGF), alginate, chitosan, albumin) along with cytotoxicity evaluation methods for drug delivery. The effect of the surface architecture of SPION in different delivery conditions is also reviewed. Cytotoxicity data are found to vary depending on the size, size distribution and surface derivatisation of SPION. In turn, these parameters depend on the methods of particle synthesis. The use of coprecipitation, microemulsions, thermal decomposition and hydrothermal synthesis are among the reviewed synthesis methods. Statistical techniques used for the optimisation of synthesis parameters have also been addressed.