Preparation and Magnetic Investigation of Magnetic Nanoparticles Entrapped Hydrogels and Its Possible Use as Radiation Shield

Magnetic nanoparticles were fabricated in hydroxyethyl methacrylate-dextran hydrogel as stabilizer by loading co-precipitation technique (HDFeL) and gamma irradiation (HDFeR). The structure and the surface morphology of the hydrogels were characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The swelling study of different hydrogels in bidistilled water and different pH's confirmed that the hydrogels are highly influenced by changing the pH. The average particle size measurements were demonstrated by transmission electron microscope and dynamic light scattering and it is found to be in the nano scale. EPR results show that the (HDFeL) samples exhibited large magnetization while the (HDFeR) samples exhibited no magnetization. EPR signal consists of two components: a broad component observed at g = 2.05774 and narrow component observed at g = 2.00219. All product samples irradiated at different irradiation doses (1-600 kGy) demonstrate no change in EPR spectra. It is expected that the Fe3O4 nanoparticles could be used for radiation shielding.