Controlled assembly of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles on electrospun PU nanofibrous membrane: A novel heat-generating substrate for magnetic hyperthermia application

A facile method of fabricating novel heat-generating membranes composed of electrospun polyurethane (PU) nanofibers decorated with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) is reported. Electrospinning was used to produce polymeric nanofibrous matrix, whereas polyol immersion technique allowed in situ assembly of well-dispersed Fe₃O₄ NPs on the nanofibrous membranes without any surfactant, and without sensitizing and stabilizing reagent. The assembly phenomena can be explained by the hydrogen-bonding interactions between the amide groups in the PU matrix and the hydroxyl groups capped on the surface of the Fe₃O₄ NPs. The prepared nanocomposite fibers showed acceptable magnetization value of 33.12 emu/g, after measuring the magnetic hysteresis loops using SQUID. Moreover, the inductive heating property of electrospun magnetic nanofibrous membranes under an alternating current (AC) magnetic field was investigated. We observed a progressive increase in the heating rate with the increase in the amount of magnetic Fe₃O₄ NPs in/on the membranes. The present electrospun magnetic nanofibrous membrane may be a potential candidate as a novel heat-generating substrate for localized hyperthermia cancer therapy.