Pongsakorn Jantaratana

This study shows the effectiveness of magnetic-guide targeting in the delivery of curcumin diethyl γ-aminobutyrate (CUR-2GE), a prodrug of curcumin (CUR) previously synthesized to overcome unfavorable physicochemical properties of CUR. In this study, chitosan (Ch)-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (Ch-IONPs) were fabricated and optimized using Box–Behnken design-based response surface methodology for delivery of CUR-2GE. Ch was used as a coating material on the nanoparticle surface to avoid aggregation. The optimized condition for preparing Ch-IONPs consisted of using 4 mg Ch fabricated at pH 11 under a reaction temperature of 85 °C. The optimized Ch-IONPs were successfully loaded with CUR-2GE with sufficient loading capacity (1.72 ± 0.01%) and encapsulation efficiency (94.9 ± 0.8%). The obtained CUR-2GE-loaded Ch-IONPs (CUR-2GE-Ch-IONPs) exhibited desirable characteristics including a particle size of less than 50 nm based on TEM images, superparamagnetic property, highly crystalline IONP core, sufficient stability, and sustained-release profile. In the presence of permanent magnets, CUR-2GE-Ch-IONPs significantly increased cellular uptake and cytotoxicity toward MDA-MB-231 with a 12-fold increase in potency compared to free CUR-2GE, indicating the potential of magnetic-field assisted delivery of CUR-2GE-Ch-IONPs for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer.

A high-saturation magnetization CoFe layer was electroplated onto Ni₅₀Mn₃₃In₁₆Cr₁ alloy using a magnetic field assistance electroplating bath. This CoFe-coated alloy can function as an active magnetic regenerator owing to its magnetocaloric effect. The CoFe coating layer did not affect the entropy change calculated from the isothermal magnetization of the alloy, but it significantly affected the temperature variation of the alloy by changing the externally applied magnetic field. The temperature change of the CoFe-coated alloy increases with increasing CoFe coating times. By comparing with the as-sintered alloy, a maximum increase of 150% in temperature change can be observed in the alloy coated with CoFe for 2 h.

Permanent magnets of varying shapes and sizes are increasingly produced. For hexaferrite magnets, it is challenging to incorporate polymers and a soft magnetic phase in the form of paste before injection molding or extrusion free-forming. In this study, hard magnetic barium hexaferrite/soft magnetic iron composites with a density of 2.28–2.34 g/cm³ are obtained after paste-injection molding and subsequent sintering at 1150 °C for 5 h. Variations of the binder (143.5–287.0 mg poly(vinyl alcohol), PVA) and the plasticizer (75–150 mg poly(ethylene glycol), PEG-400) in the ceramic–polymer paste give rise to comparable remanent magnetization (33.10–33.63 emu/g) and coercivity (3854–3857 Oe). Unlike all-ferrite systems, the presence of a soft magnetic metal phase is not detrimental to the coercivity. However, the remanent and saturation magnetizations are not substantially increased. The addition of 1% and 5% of iron oxide in the ceramic–polymer paste gives rise to hard/soft composites with lower densities of 2.11 and 2.14 g/cm³. The coercivity is increased to 3942–3945 Oe; however, the maximum energy product is reduced.

Ceramic–polymer paste-injection molding is demonstrated as a facile fabrication route for barium hexaferrite magnets. Interestingly, these low-density (1.90–2.35 g/cm³) magnets exhibit substantial coercivity of 3868–4002 Oe. When ceramic paste without polymeric additives is used, reduced coercivity and slightly increased magnetizations are obtained from a magnet with the density of 2.55 g/cm³. Their magnetizations are also higher than those obtained from compactions of sol–gel-derived powders. For compact magnets (3.46–3.77 g/cm³), the DI water addition results in a slightly higher magnetization but lower coercivity than dry-pressed magnets. Compactions into disk and bar magnets give rise to comparable magnetic properties. The morphological characterizations reveal smaller barium hexaferrite particles leading to larger coercivity, and the density and shape of magnets have a less pronounced effect.

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/barium ferrite (BaFe₁₂O₁₉) with different composition ratios was fabricated by magnetic composite filaments using an extrusion process for a 3D printer. The silane modified surface of BaFe₁₂O₁₉ was studied to observe the effect on the mechanical, morphology, thermal, and magnetic properties of magnetic composite filaments. The results showed that the silane treated surface BaFe₁₂O₁₉ not only enhanced the mechanical properties of magnetic composite filaments, but also improved adhesion and homogeneity between the BaFe₁₂O₁₉ filler and PLA matrix. Moreover, the thermal and magnetic properties of magnetic composite filaments were not obviously changed after adding silane treated surface BaFe₁₂O₁₉. The achievement of the magnetic composite filaments preparation with silane treated surface BaFe₁₂O₁₉ for the 3D printing process could become a guideline to develop and design other magnetic composites products in the near future.

Process parameters leading to magnetic polymer composites, an essential ingredient in the additive manufacturing of rare-earth-free magnets, are investigated. The induction melting of manganese (Mn) and aluminum (Al), and subsequent annealing at 450, 500, or 550 °C for 20 min, gave rise to ferromagnetic τ–MnAl phase, as well as other phases. The nonmagnetic Al₄C₃ and oxide phases were then removed by the magnetic separation. Magnetic powders from the magnetic separation were incorporated in polylactic acid (PLA) matrix via a solution route. The remanent magnetization as high as 4.3 emu/g in the powder form was reduced to 2.3–2.6 emu/g in the composites. The reduction in coercivity was minimal, and the largest value of 814 Oe was obtained when the powder annealed at 450 °C was loaded in the composite. The phase composition and hence magnetic properties were even more sensitive to the carbon (C) doping. Interestingly, the addition of 3% C led to coercivity as high as 1445 Oe in MnAl–C powders without further annealing. The enhanced coercivity was attributed to the domain wall pinning by the AlMn₃C phase, and magnetizations are likely increased by this phase.

Solution–processing methods were investigated as viable alternatives to produce the polymer-bonded barium hexaferrite (BaM). BaM powders were first synthesized by using the sol-gel auto-combustion method. While the ignition period in two synthesis batches varied, the morphology of hexagonal microplates and nanorods, as well as magnetic properties, were reproduced. To prepare magnetic polymer composites, these BaM powders were then incorporated into the acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) matrix with a weight ratio of 80:20, 70:30, and 60:40 by using the solution casting method. Magnetizations were linearly decreased with a reduction in ferrite loading. Compared to the BaM loose powders and pressed pellet, both remanent and saturation magnetizations were lower and gave rise to comparable values of the squareness. The squareness around 0.5 of BaM samples and their composites revealed the isotropic alignment. Interestingly, the coercivity was significantly increased from 1727–1776 Oe in loose BaM powders to 1874–2052 Oe for the BaM-ABS composites. These composites have potential to be implemented in the additive manufacturing of rare-earth-free magnets.

Cobaltite oxide spinel (CoCo₂O₄) is one promising material that has been extensively studied for decades due to its versatile applications. Revealing the correlation among chemical compositions, cationic distributions, and physical properties are crucial for exploring its novel application. Here, a series of nickel/zinc co-substituted cobaltite spinels, Zn_1−XNi_XCo₂O₄ (ZNCO-X; where X = 0.00, 0.25, …, 1.00), was synthesized by calcining the hydrothermal-derived precursors and their magnetic properties have been investigated. Multiple x-ray based characterization techniques (XRD, XRF, XPS, and XAS) were applied to determine the crystalline structure and appropriated compositions of cation species (Zn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Ni³⁺, Co²⁺, and Co³⁺). In conjunction with Neel’s theory of antiferromagnetism, the theoretical magnetization of the spinel series was calculated based on the assumption that Zn²⁺ ion was located in tetrahedral (A site) while nickel cations (Ni²⁺ and Ni³⁺) occupying the octahedral (B site). The theoretical magnetization profile exhibited a good correlation. Superparamagnetic effect and cationic site exchange can be used to explain the discrepancies between the measured and calculated magnetizations. This work reported a systematic controlling of materials structure and cationic distribution, which are crucial for fine-tuning the magnetic property of the Zn_1−XNi_XCo₂O₄ cobaltite system.