Facile graft of poly(2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) onto Fe3O4 nanoparticles by ATRP: Synthesis, properties, and biocompatibility

Abstract Magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles with the surface hydroxyl groups were achieved by a polyol process. Using 2‐(4‐chlorosulfonylphenyl) ethyltrichlorosilane (CTCS) as initiator, 2‐(methacryloyloxy)ethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) as monomer, poly(2‐(methacryloyloxy)ethyl phosphorylcholine) (PMPC)‐grafted Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles (MNP) were successfully prepared via the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) method. The successful grafting of PMPC on the Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles surface was ascertained from the FTIR analysis. The modified nanoparticles (MNP‐CTCS‐PMPC) showed a good biocompatibility in the cytotoxicity test in vitro . Performance testing of MNP‐CTCS‐PMPC was performed through magnetic resonance analysis (MR), and its r 2 / r 1 value was 24.1. These results indicated that the modified Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles would be a potential MRI contrast reagent. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2013.