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 (Fe(3)O(4)) 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 Fe(3)O(4) 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/Fe(3)O(4)/polymer composites improved on increasing the added amount of Fe(3)O(4) particles and TA oligomers. Both Fe(3)O(4) and TA can contribute to improved heating performance, but Fe(3)O(4) possesses a greater contribution than TA does. Hence, the main source for increasing the composites’ temperature is Neel relaxation loss from Fe(3)O(4) magnetic particles.