MgFe2O4 nano-particle for interstitial hyperthermia on cancer treatment

Interstitial hyperthermia using magnetic materials is an excellent method in selectively heating cancer tissue without damaging the normal one. In this method, a ferromagnetic material is implanted in the cancer tissue and heated under a high frequency alternating magnetic field. The temperature of the cancer is raised and then regulated at Curie temperature(Tc) of the implant material. Therefore, the implant material should possess large heat generation ability and the suitable Tc and should be composed by bio-compatible elements such as C, O, N, Na, Mg, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Fe. In this study, the magnetic properties and characteristic of heat generation for the nano-particle of MgFe₂O₄ are reported. The nano-particle were prepared from MgCl₂ (0.98%) and FeCl₃ (95%) using coprecipitation. The precipitate was annealed at 773-1273 K for 6 hours. The particle size was dependent on the annealing temperature. The study showed that the quantity of heat generation increases with increasing particle size. The nanoparticles with 160 nm of MgFe₂O₄ have a heat generation value of 18W/g, which is equal to Fe_0.73Pt_0.27 bulk implant.