Photoacoustic behavior of CoFe₂O₄ and CoFe₂O₄-BaTiO₃ core-shell magnetoelectric nanoparticles

Abstract

Targeted drug delivery has become an increasingly popular field of research over the past decade as the desire for more discriminatory methods of treatment has risen. Photoacoustic-mediated drug delivery utilizing core-shell magnetoelectric nanocomposites has the potential to provide localized administration of medicine or even induce apoptosis via irreversible cellular electroporation. To design these systems, the suitability of specific materials must be assessed and quantified. This work reports on the photoacoustic properties found in ferromagnetic CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles and magnetoelectric CoFe₂O₄-BaTiO₃ nanocomposites, as well as the impact of core size on the photoacoustic spectra measured. The photoacoustic response of the core-shell nanocomposites was found to be significantly attenuated when compared to the pure CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles. This indicates the ferroelectric BaTiO₃ shell is absorbing a percentage of the generated acoustic waves, demonstrating the capability to implement these nanocomposites in a photoacoustic-mediated drug delivery system.

KEYWORDS:

• Photoacoustic
• multiferroics
• magnetoelectrics
• core-shell
• nanocomposites

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the Office of Naval Research for their funding of this work and its extension into 3D printing.