Iron oxide nanomaterials are considered promising tools for improved therapeutic efficacy and diagnostic applications in biomedicine. Accordingly, engineered iron oxide nanomaterials are increasingly proposed in biomedicine, and the interdisciplinary researches involving physics, chemistry, biology (nanotechnology) and medicine have led to exciting developments in the last decades. The progresses of the development of magnetic nanoparticles with tailored physico-chemical and surface properties produced a variety of clinically relevant applications, spanning from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), drug delivery, magnetic hyperthermia, to in vitro diagnostics. Notwithstanding the wellknown conventional synthetic procedures and their wide use, along with recent advances in the synthetic methods open the door to new generations of naked iron oxide nanoparticles possessing peculiar surface chemistries, suitable for other competitive biomedical applications. New abilities to rationally manipulate iron oxides and their physical, chemical, and biological properties, allow the emersion of additional possibilities for designing novel nanomaterials for theranostic applications.

Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science University of Padua Italy

Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials Department of Physical Chemistry Palacky University in Olomouc Olomouc Czech Republic

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Enzyme Immobilization on Maghemite Nanoparticles with Improved Catalytic Activity: An Electrochemical Study for Xanthine

The surface reactivity of iron oxide nanoparticles as a potential hazard for aquatic environments: A study on Daphnia magna adults and embryos