New insight on optical and magnetic Fe3O4 nanoclusters promising for near infrared theranostic applications.

Extensive efforts have been devoted to the development of a new biophotonic system using near infrared (NIR) nano-agents for non-invasive cancer diagnosis and therapy. Here, we developed a simple synthesis reaction of ligands, hydrazine, and iron(ii) chloride to fabricate Fe3O4 cluster-structured nanoparticles (CNPs) with interesting NIR photonics and high magnetization (Ms: 98.3 emu g(-1) and proton relaxivity r2: 234.6 mM(-1) s(-1)). These Fe3O4 CNPs exhibited optical absorption and reflection over all wavelengths, showing a U-shape absorption band with a low absorbance at a range of 750-950 nm and a progressive evolution in the second near infrared region. Strengthening of the scattering effect by incubating Fe3O4 CNPs with HeLa cells was observed when optical contrast enhancement was performed in an optical coherence tomography (OCT) microscope system with a laser light source at 860 nm. Using a 1064 nm laser at a low power density (380 mW cm(-2)) to excite the Fe3O4 CNPs (375 ppm[Fe]) led to a rise in the water temperature from 25 °C to 58 °C within 10 min. Finally, we present the first example of magnetomotive OCT cellular imaging combined with enhanced photothermal therapy using Fe3O4 CNPs and applying a magnetic field, which is promising for preclinical and clinical trials in the future.