Superparamagnetic and highly bioactive SPIONS/bioactive glass nanocomposite and its potential application in magnetic hyperthermia

Magnetic bioactive glass-ceramics are biomaterials applied for magnetic hyperthermia in bone cancer treatment, thereby treating the bone tumor besides regenerating the damaged bone. However, combining high bioactivity and high saturation magnetization remains a challenge since the thermal treatment step employed to grow magnetic phases is also related to loss of bioactivity. Here, we propose a new nanocomposite made of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) dispersed in a sol-gel-derived bioactive glass matrix, which does not need any thermal treatment for crystallization of magnetic phases. The scanning and transmission electron microscopies, X-ray diffraction, and dynamic light scattering results confirm that the SPIONs are actually embedded in a nanosized glass matrix, thus forming a nanocomposite. Magnetic and calorimetric characterizations evidence their proper behavior for hyperthermia applications, besides evidencing inter-magnetic nanoparticle interactions within the nanocomposite. Bioactivity and in vitro characterizations show that such nanocomposites exhibit apatite-forming properties similar to the highly bioactive parent glass, besides being osteoinductive. This methodology is a new alternative to produce magnetic bioactive materials to which the magnetic properties only rely on the quality of the SPIONs used in the synthesis. Thereby, these nanocomposites can be recognized as a new class of bioactive materials for applications in bone cancer treatment by hyperthermia.