| Superparamagnetic nanoparticles (NPs) have been attractive for medical diagnostics and therapeutics due to their unique magnetic properties and their ability to interact with various biomolecules of interest. The solution phase based chemical synthesis provides a near precise control on NP size, and monodisperse magnetic NPs with standard deviation in diameter of less than 10%, which are now routinely available. Upon controlled surface functionalization and coupling with fragments of DNA strands, proteins, peptides or antibodies, these NPs can be well-dispersed in biological solutions and used for drug delivery, magnetic separation, magnetic resonance imaging contrast enhancement and magnetic fluid hyperthermia.;This dissertation begins with an overview of the background, common syntheses and controlled surface functionalization of monodisperse superparamagnetic nanoparticles. Then the detailed examples are offered in each chapter to explain the efforts I spent in the past four years exploring the functionalization and biomedical applications of magnetic nanoparticles. |
