Recent advances in the synthesis and biomedical applications of α-hematite nanoparticles

Abstract

Iron oxide is a chemical compound of iron and oxygen having different polymorphs including Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄, and FeO. Among them, most studies were carried out on Fe₂O₃ and Fe₃O₄, as they possess extraordinary properties at the nanoscale. The Fe₂O₃ also has different forms i.e ferrimagnetic γ-Fe₂O₃ (maghemite), weak-ferromagnetic and hard-magnetic ε-Fe₂O₃. In this short review, we have dealt with the α- Fe₂O₃ (hematite) nanoparticles and their biomedical aspects. The high aspect ratio of the particles in the nano-domain enhances its optical, electrical, and magnetic properties. Therefore, in the nano regime, these materials become favorable for various applications such as drug delivery, separation, magnetic hyperthermia, magnetic sorting, sensing, etc. In this report, numerous synthesis protocols (both chemical and physical) of the hematite have been discussed with their potential application in biomedical fields.