Microfluidic Detection of SPIONs and Co-Ferrite Ferrofluid Using Amorphous Wire Magneto-Impedance Sensor.

The detection of magnetic nanoparticles in a liquid medium and the quantification of their concentration have the potential to improve the efficiency of several relevant applications in different fields, including medicine, environmental remediation, and mechanical engineering. To this end, sensors based on the magneto-impedance effect have attracted much attention due to their high sensitivity to the stray magnetic field generated by magnetic nanoparticles, their simple fabrication process, and their relatively low cost. To improve the sensitivity of these sensors, a multidisciplinary approach is required to study a wide range of soft magnetic materials as sensing elements and to customize the magnetic properties of nanoparticles.

Dual-responsive magnetic nanodroplets for controlled oxygen release ultrasound and magnetic stimulation.

Magnetic oxygen-loaded nanodroplets (MOLNDs) are a promising class of nanomaterials dually sensitive to ultrasound and magnetic fields, which can be employed as nanovectors for drug delivery applications, particularly in the field of hypoxic tissue treatment. Previous investigations were primarily focused on the application of these hybrid systems for hyperthermia treatment, exploiting magnetic nanoparticles for heat generation and nanodroplets as carriers and ultrasound contrast agents for treatment progress monitoring. This work places its emphasis on the prospect of obtaining an oxygen delivery system that can be activated by both ultrasound and magnetic fields.

Resistive switching and role of interfaces in memristive devices based on amorphous NbO grown by anodic oxidation.

Memristive devices based on the resistive switching mechanism are continuously attracting attention in the framework of neuromorphic computing and next-generation memory devices. Here, we report on a comprehensive analysis of the resistive switching properties of amorphous NbO grown by anodic oxidation. Besides a detailed chemical, structural and morphological analysis of the involved materials and interfaces, the mechanism of switching in Nb/NbO/Au resistive switching cells is discussed by investigating the role of metal-metal oxide interfaces in regulating electronic and ionic transport mechanisms.

Improvement of Hyperthermia Properties of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles by Surface Coating.

Magnetic hyperthermia is an oncological therapy that exploits magnetic nanoparticles activated by radiofrequency magnetic fields to produce a controlled temperature increase in a diseased tissue. The specific loss power (SLP) of magnetic nanoparticles or the capability to release heat can be improved using surface treatments, which can reduce agglomeration effects, thus impacting on local magnetostatic interactions. In this work, FeO nanoparticles are synthesized via a coprecipitation reaction and fully characterized in terms of structural, morphological, dimensional, magnetic, and hyperthermia properties (under the Hergt-Dutz limit).

Magnetic properties of FeGa/Kapton for flexible electronics.

Flexible materials have brought up a new era of application-based research in stretchable electronics and wearable devices in the last decade. Tuning of magnetic properties by changing the curvature of devices has significant impact in the new generation of sensor-based technologies. In this work, magnetostrictive FeGa thin films have been deposited on a flexible Kapton sheet to exploit the magneto-elastic coupling effect and modify the magnetic properties of the sample.

Fabrication of new Magnetic Micro-Machines for minimally invasive surgery.

Magnetic Micro-Machines (MMM) have been proposed as effective tools for minimally invasive surgery. We propose an innovative and low cost MMM manufacturing process based on casting of a mixture of SmCo powders and acrylic resin into silicone moulds. After developing a MMM prototype, we tested its swimming ability by using different siliconic oils of known kinematic viscosity.