Brownian rotational relaxation and power absorption in magnetite nanoparticles

We present a study of the power absorption efficiency in several magnetite-based colloids, to asses their potential as magnetic inductive hyperthermia (MIH) agents. Relaxation times τ$\tau$ were measured through the imaginary susceptibility component χ^″(T)${\chi }^{″}(T)$, and analyzed within Debye's theory of dipolar fluid. The results indicated Brownian rotational relaxation and allowed to calculate the hydrodynamic radius close to the values obtained from photon correlation. The study of the colloid performances as power absorbers showed no detectable increase of temperature for dextran-coated Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles, whereas a second Fe₃O₄-based dispersion of similar concentration could be heated up to 12 K after 30 min under similar experimental conditions. The different power absorption efficiencies are discussed in terms of the magnetic structure of the nanoparticles.