Novel protocol for the solid-state synthesis of magnetite for medical practices

Green synthesis and characterization of iron-oxide nanoparticles using Moringa oleifera: a potential protocol for use in low and middle income countries

Objective

Green synthesized iron(III) oxide (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles are gaining appeal in targeted drug delivery systems because of their low cost, fast processing and nontoxicity. However, there is no known research work undertaken in the production of green synthesized nano-particles from the Ugandan grown Moringa Oleifera (MO). This study aims at exploring and developing an optimized protocol aimed at producing such nanoparticles from the Ugandan grown Moringa.

Results

While reducing ferric chloride solution with Moringa oleifera leaves, Iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄-NPs) were synthesized through an economical and completely green biosynthetic method. The structural properties of these Fe₃O₄-NPs were investigated by Ultra Violet–visible (UV–Vis) spectrophotometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). These nanoparticles exhibited UV–visible absorption peaks at 225 nm (nm) for the sixth dilution and 228 nm for the fifth dilution which indicated that the nanoparticles were photosensitive and the SEM study confirmed the spherical nature of these nanoparticles. The total synthesis time was approximately 5 h after drying the moringa leaves, and the average particle size was approximately 16 nm. Such synthesized nanoparticles can potentially be useful for drug delivery, especially in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs).

Green Synthesis of Magnetite (Fe3O4) Nanoparticles Using Seaweed (Kappaphycus alvarezii) Extract

In this study, a simple, rapid, and eco-friendly green method was introduced to synthesize magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4-NPs) successfully. Seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii (K. alvarezii) was employed as a green reducing and stabilizing agents. The synthesized Fe3O4-NPs were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The X-ray diffraction planes at (220), (311), (400), (422), (511), (440), and (533) were corresponding to the standard Fe3O4 patterns, which showed the high purity and crystallinity of Fe3O4-NPs had been synthesized. Based on FT-IR analysis, two characteristic absorption peaks were observed at 556 and 423 cm(-1), which proved the existence of Fe3O4 in the prepared nanoparticles. TEM image displayed the synthesized Fe3O4-NPs were mostly in spherical shape with an average size of 14.7 nm.