Electroactive Composites with Block Copolymer-Templated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Magnetic Hyperthermia Application.

Cancer has been one of the leading causes of human death for centuries. Magnetic hyperthermia is a promising technique to confine and control cancers. However, particles used in magnetic hyperthermia leaking from where the cancers are located could compromise human health. Therefore, we developed electroactive iron oxide/block copolymer composites to tackle the leakage problem. Experimental results show that oleylamine-modified magnetic iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) particles and electroactive tetraaniline (TA) could be templated in the self-assembled microstructures of sulfonated [styrene-b-(ethylene-ran-butylene)-b-styrene] (S-SEBS) block copolymers. Various amounts of Fe₃O₄ particles and TA oligomer were incorporated in S-SEBS block copolymer and their electroactive behavior was confirmed by exhibiting two pairs of well-defined anodic and cathodic current peaks in cyclic voltammetry tests. The heating performance of the resultant TA/Fe₃O₄/polymer composites improved on increasing the added amount of Fe₃O₄ particles and TA oligomers. Both Fe₃O₄ and TA can contribute to improved heating performance, but Fe₃O₄ possesses a greater contribution than TA does. Hence, the main source for increasing the composites' temperature is Neel relaxation loss from Fe₃O₄ magnetic particles.