The shape and properties of the synthesized particles are highly dependent on the starting material used in the alkaline precipitation method (i.e., nitrates vs. chlorides vs. sulfates) [7]. However, thermal decomposition suffers from the drawback of using relatively toxic precursors in the syntheses. Thermal decomposition methods use toxic metallic precursors such as iron pentacarbonyl (Fe(CO)5) and other organic solvents for the process of synthesis [1, 4, 7]. There is much interest currently in alternative methods of nanoparticle synthesis, which use relatively non-toxic starting precursors and are environmentally friendly. It is now possible to prepare nanoparticles using

much less toxic chemical precursors, such as iron fatty acids [2, 8–10]. These so-called green synthesis methods are much less toxic CH5424802 price and can produce relatively stable and uniform magnetic nanoparticles [8, 10]. Superparamagnetic iron-platinum particles (SIPPs) produced using such methods are seen to maintain their relative stability in solutions [2, KU55933 order 8, 9]. Uniformity of size and shape of nanoparticles are important for issues related

to biocompatibility as a widely Ilomastat varying size range may lead to non-uniform behavior of the nanoparticles both in vitro and in vivo [11]. The general reaction for the synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles using a green method of synthesis is described as follows. The iron precursor of

the reaction is in the form of iron fatty acids (Fe-fatty acid). The second component of the bimetallic nanoparticle is a platinum precursor in the form of platinum acetylacetonate or Pt(acac)2. The solvent of the reaction is octadecene (ODE) or tetracosane (TCA). A fourth component of the reaction is the use of fatty amines and fatty acids as ligands. Fatty amines, in the form of octadecylamine (ODA), are carbon-18 single chain fatty amines that play a critical role in the stabilization of the nanocrystal in the early stages of synthesis [10]. Moreover, fatty amines can act as both the solvent and the ligand, reducing the number of chemicals needed to produce the alloy Calpain nanocrystals. In this report, we focus on the open question of the role played by the fatty amine in the formation of the bimetallic FePt nanocrystal. More specifically, we compare the effect of varying lengths of fatty amine ligands on the shape, structure, uniformity, composition, and magnetic properties of the synthesized magnetic FePt nanoparticles. Methods Materials used for synthesis Iron nitrate nonahydrate (Fe(NO3)3 · 9H2O) and Pt(acac)2 were purchased from Sigma (St. Louis, MO, USA). Additionally, all of the ligands including ODA, 1-hexadecylamine (HDA), 1-tetradecylamine (TDA), and 1-dodecylamine (DDA) were purchased from Sigma (St.