http://www.mdpi.com/journal/materials/special_issues/magnetic-nanoparticles/ Dear Colleagues, Magnetic micro- and nanoparticles have been used in biological and biomedical investigations since the 1920s when Heilbrunn and Seifritz first used the forces on these particles to examine the rheological properties of cells. Since that time, myriad uses for these particles have arisen and much progress has been made in synthesis techniques and bio-functionalization. Superparamagnetic iron oxides are routinely used in the clinic today as MRI contrast agents and are found in many pathology laboratories around the world where they are used to tag cells for cell separation and immunoassay. More recent, novel uses include binding to specific cell receptors to control cell function and stem cell differentiation for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, as well as magnetic targeting for drug and gene delivery and magnetic fluid hyperthermia. This issue will cover a variety of topics related to the use of MNPs in biomedicine and examine both novel synthesis and functionalization techniques as well as their current and future uses in biomedical research, diagnostics and therapy. Prof. Dr. Jon Dobson Guest Editor Related Special Issue Magnetic Nanoparticles in International Journal of Molecular Sciences. {snippet name="submission_info"} http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/7/4051/ Multifunctional nanoparticles composed of MnFe2O4 were encapsulated in chitosan for investigation of system to combine magnetically-triggered drug delivery and localized hyperthermia for cancer treatment with the previously published capacity of MnFe2O4 to be used as an efficient MRI contrast agent for cancer diagnosis. This paper focuses on the synthesis and characterization of magnetic MnFe2O4 nanoparticles, their dispersion in water and their incorporation in chitosan, which serves as a drug carrier. The surface of the MnFe2O4 nanoparticles was modified with meso-2,3-di-mercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) to develop stable aqueous dispersions. The nanoparticles were coated with chitosan, and the magnetic properties, heat generation and hydrodynamic size of chitosan-coated MnFe2O4 were evaluated for various linker concentrations and in a range of pH conditions. http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/7/4051/ Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:00:00 CEST Materials 2010-07-13 3 7 Article 4051 4065 1996-1944 Synthesis and Characterization of Multifunctional Chitosan- MnFe2O4 Nanoparticles for Magnetic Hyperthermia and Drug Delivery 2010-07-13 doi: 10.3390/ma3074051 Kim Nikles Brazel http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/4/2412/ Magnetic particles are finding increasing use in bioapplications, especially as carrier particles to transport biomaterials such as proteins, enzymes, nucleic acids and whole cells etc. Magnetic particles can be prepared with biofunctional coatings to target and label a specific biomaterial, and they enable controlled manipulation of a labeled biomaterial using an external magnetic field. In this review, we discuss the use of magnetic nanoparticles as transport agents in various bioapplications. We provide an overview of the properties of magnetic nanoparticles and their functionalization for bioapplications. We discuss the basic physics and equations governing the transport of magnetic particles at the micro- and nanoscale. We present two different transport models: a classical Newtonian model for predicting the motion of individual particles, and a drift-diffusion model for predicting the behavior of a concentration of nanoparticles that takes into account Brownian motion. We review specific magnetic biotransport applications including bioseparation, drug delivery and magnetofection. We demonstrate the transport models via application to these processes. http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/4/2412/ Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:00:00 CEST Materials 2010-03-30 3 4 Review 2412 2446 1996-1944 Magnetic Biotransport: Analysis and Applications 2010-03-30 doi: 10.3390/ma3042412 Furlani http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/2/1244/ Magnetic hollow spheres with a controlled diameter and shell thickness have emerged as an important class of magnetic nanomaterials. The confined hollow geometry and pronouncedly curved surfaces induce unique physical properties different from those of flat thin films and solid counterparts. In this paper, we focus on recent progress on submicron-size spherical hollow magnets (e.g., cobalt- and iron-based materials), and discuss the effects of the hollow shape and the submicron size on magnetic and optical properties. http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/2/1244/ Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:00:00 CET Materials 2010-02-21 3 2 Review 1244 1268 1996-1944 Magnetic and Optical Properties of Submicron-Size Hollow Spheres 2010-02-21 doi: 10.3390/ma3021244 Quan-Lin Ye Hirofumi Yoshikawa Kunio Awaga