Advanced ferrogels: Preparation and applications in biomedical and environmental remediation fields.

MARÍA FERNANDA HORST; VERA ALVAREZ; VERÓNICA LASALLE

Buenos Aires

Conferencia; VI International conference on science and technology of composite materials, COMAT 2015; 2015

Ferrogels are new emerging materials that have attracted intensive attention because of their great versatility and easy methodology of synthesis. These modern materials combine important properties through tuning and tailoring of functionalities. They consist of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) embedded in polymeric gels that respond to external magnetic stimuli. These materials are increasingly used in a wide range of applications including biomedical and environmental remediation. Different procedures may be implemented to incorporate MNPs to the polymeric networks. Among them, dispersion of preformed MNPs with a specific size, shape and/or coating in a polymer solution has been widely employed. The use of biopolymeric moieties as templates for the growth of MNPs constitutes a powerful method to synthesize these hybrid materials. Polymeric organic matrices provide chemically and spatially confined environments that control the nanoparticles size and their aggregation. In this context, it has been demonstrated that hydrogels derived from polysaccharides are effective templates for the in situ synthesis of MNPs. The main objective of the present study was to synthesize ferrogels by in situ co-precipitation of magnetite into gelatine matrix. Variables such as polysaccharide concentration, aggregation state of the biopolymer (solid in solution), temperature, presence of extra additives (such as stabilizers) have been explored. Characterization of obtained materials has been assessed by using FTIR-DRIFTS, TGA, XRD, FESEM and by determining the magnetic properties (by VSM). Swelling tests have also been performed. Applications of prepared materials as drug delivery systems are currently in evaluation using Diclofenac as anti-inflammatory model drug. On the other hand, these materials will be tested as adsorbents of heavy metals, as a preliminary application on environmental remediation field.