Iron oxide-based multifunctional nanoparticulate systems for biomedical applications: a patent review (2008 - present).

Introduction: Iron oxide nanoparticles (IO NPs) exhibit remarkable properties, including inherent magnetism, biocompatibility, high surface to volume ratio, and versatility of engineering, making them ideal candidates for a variety of clinical applications.

Areas Covered: The review provides an in-depth discussion on recent patents and developments related to IO NPs in Biomedicine from the last 7 years. It covers innovations in the chemical synthesis, surface coating and functionalization, and biomedical applications, including MRI and multimodal imaging, molecular imaging, cell labeling, drug delivery, hyperthermia, hyperphosphatemia, and antibacterial activity. A brief outline of the important properties of IO NPs is also presented.

Expert Opinion: The main focus of current research is the development of new approaches to generate high-quality IO NPs with optimal properties in terms of particle geometry, crystal structure, surface functionalities, stability, and magnetization. Among chemical synthesis methods, thermal decomposition and hydrothermal synthetics processes allow fine control of the particle properties. Plenty of coating materials have been successfully used as shells for these NPs to provide colloidal stability, even enabling the formulation of nanotheranostics for simultaneous disease diagnosis and therapy. However, long-term toxicity and pharmacokinetic studies are necessary before magnetic nanosystems can be approved for clinical use.