Preparation and characterization of polyethylenimine‐coated Fe3O4‐MCM‐48 nanocomposite particles as a novel agent for magnet‐assisted transfection

Abstract

A new type of magnetic nanoparticle was synthesized using mesoporous silica MCM-48 as a template. Magnetite (Fe₃O₄) nanocrystals were incorporated onto the MCM-48 silica structure by thermal decomposition of iron(III) acetylacetonate. The particle size of these Fe₃O₄-MCM-48 composite particles is around 300 nm with an iron oxide content of ca. 20% w/w. Measurements from SQUID magnetometry suggest that these nanoparticles possess superparamagnetic properties similar to those of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. By coating positively charged polyethylenimine on to the surface, DNA can be bound onto the Fe₃O₄-MCM-48 nanoparticles. Transfection studies showed that these PEI-Fe₃O₄-MCM-48 particles were highly effective as a transfection reagent, and a 400% increase of transfection efficiency compared with the commercial products was recorded. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2010