Experimental characterization of electrochemical synthesized Fe nanowires for biomedical applications

Fe based nanomaterials have shown extensive application promises in medical diagnosis and treatment due to their biocompatibility. Using template assisted electrodeposition, iron based nanowires with controllable size, aspect ratio, and magnetic anisotropy have been fabricated. In situ synchrotron diffraction technique has been used to reveal the nanowire growth mechanism and provide real time compositional and crystallographic information. Biocompatibility of the nanowires with Rat-2 fibroblast cells has been evaluated and compared with magnetite nanoparticles. Using an external magnetic field, cell manipulation through the use of these magnetic nanowires has been demonstrated. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3692068]