Synthesis and characterization of dl-thioctic acid (DLTA)–Fe3O4 nanocomposite

dl-Thioctic acid (DLTA) coated magnetite (Fe3O4) NP's have been prepared by the co-precipitation of iron oxide in the presence of DLTA. The product identified as magnetite, which has an average crystallite size of 7 ± 2 nm as estimated from X-ray line profile fitting. Particle size was estimated as 11 ± 1 nm from TEM micrographs. FT-IR analysis showed that the binding of DLTA on the surface of iron oxide is through carboxyl group is bidentate. VSM analysis explained the super-paramagnetic nature of the nanocomposite. TG analysis showed that the 80% of the nanocomposite was DLTA and 10% was Fe3O4, respectively. The conductivity measurements displayed the magnetic transition at ∼60 °C for DLTA–Fe3O4 NPs. Analysis of the conductivities reveals the fact that the a.c. conductivity shows a frequency-dependent behavior while d.c. electrical conductivity is strongly temperature dependent and is classified into two regions over a limited temperature range of up to 120 °C. Toxicity was tested measured by LDH assay.

► DLTA coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles have been prepared by the co-precipitation of iron oxide in the presence of DLTA.
► The synthesized DLTA coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles might be applied to cell separation, diagnosis and targeted drug delivery for cancer therapy.
► In addition, the synthetic process presented here may have potential applications to synthesize biologically important compounds like amino acid capped nanoparticle configurations, including essential amino acids and some proteins coating.