High-throughput determination of structure-property relationships of magnetic nanoparticles using a multi-detector chromatographic approach

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) possess unique magnetic properties which makes them highly suitable for various biomedical applications, including magnetic particle imaging (MPI). The magnetic behavior of MNP in a particular application depends largely on their size, morphology, structure, and surface modification. Therefore, it is essential to use various characterization techniques to systematically optimize MNP to achieve the desired magnetic effect and ensure the reproducibility and quality of commercial products. However, MNP samples typically exhibit a dispersion of particle properties (e.g. size) that may increase in biological environments. While ensemble methods provide acceptable results, they are not selective when applied to mixed particle populations. To reliably characterize MNP, we use a combination of chromatographic separation techniques with coupled complementary detectors for structural and magnetic characterization.