Biomimetic Single‐Domain Magnetic Nanochains Surpassing Magnetotactic Bacteria in Hyperthermia Efficiency

ABSTRACT Magnetosome chains biosynthesized by magnetotactic bacteria combine high magnetic responsivity with efficient magnetothermal conversion but face limitations due to fragile assembly and potential biosafety risks. Here, we report a biomimetic Stöber‐based encapsulation strategy that preserves the native chain architecture while imparting structural robustness and enhanced safety. The resulting B‐MNC exhibit a coercivity (33.6 mT), approximately 5× higher than magnetosomes, 1.4× higher than intact magnetotactic bacteria, and 2.2× higher than chemically synthesized analogs (C‐MNC22). Magnetic characterization reveals ideally uniaxial single‐domain behavior with a remanence ratio ( M rs /M s ) of 0.5, outperforming magnetosomes (0.35), bacteria (0.46), and C‐MNC22 (0.27). Under an alternating magnetic field (144.1 kHz, 34.7 kA m −1 ), aligned B‐MNC achieve a specific absorption rate ( SAR ) of 1749.7 W g −1 , which is approximately 4.72× greater than purified magnetosomes, enabling rapid and efficient heating. In vitro, silica encapsulation markedly improves colloidal stability and cytocompatibility. Upon magnetic hyperthermia (42°C, 20 min), B‐MNC induce 71.4% death of MB49 bladder cancer cells versus only 12.4% for bare magnetosomes. This biomimetic assembly preserves the superior magnetic properties of native magnetosome chains while enhancing magnetic hyperthermia efficacy and biostability, establishing B‐MNC as a promising platform for safe and effective magnetic cancer therapy.

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Small
Published
2026-03-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202514961
Primary Topic
Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies
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article
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article

Biomimetic Single‐Domain Magnetic Nanochains Surpassing Magnetotactic Bacteria in Hyperthermia Efficiency

Xueyang Liu, Zan Gao, Zhen Sun, Hongyu Chen et al.
Small
Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies
article

Biomimetic Single‐Domain Magnetic Nanochains Surpassing Magnetotactic Bacteria in Hyperthermia Efficiency

Xueyang Liu, Zan Gao, Zhen Sun, Hongyu Chen, Haotong Zhang, Jinhua Li, Yan Liu, Lina Ma, Jiawei Liu, Chunhua Wei
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Magnetosome chains biosynthesized by magnetotactic bacteria combine high magnetic responsivity with efficient magnetothermal conversion but face limitations due to fragile assembly and potential biosafety risks. Here, we report a biomimetic Stöber‐based encapsulation strategy that preserves the native chain architecture while imparting structural robustness and enhanced safety. The resulting B‐MNC exhibit a coercivity (33.6 mT), approximately 5× higher than magnetosomes, 1.4× higher than intact magnetotactic bacteria, and 2.2× higher than chemically synthesized analogs (C‐MNC22). Magnetic characterization reveals ideally uniaxial single‐domain behavior with a remanence ratio ( M rs /M s ) of 0.5, outperforming magnetosomes (0.35), bacteria (0.46), and C‐MNC22 (0.27). Under an alternating magnetic field (144.1 kHz, 34.7 kA m −1 ), aligned B‐MNC achieve a specific absorption rate ( SAR ) of 1749.7 W g −1 , which is approximately 4.72× greater than purified magnetosomes, enabling rapid and efficient heating. In vitro, silica encapsulation markedly improves colloidal stability and cytocompatibility. Upon magnetic hyperthermia (42°C, 20 min), B‐MNC induce 71.4% death of MB49 bladder cancer cells versus only 12.4% for bare magnetosomes. This biomimetic assembly preserves the superior magnetic properties of native magnetosome chains while enhancing magnetic hyperthermia efficacy and biostability, establishing B‐MNC as a promising platform for safe and effective magnetic cancer therapy.

Small
Westlake University (CN), Institute of Geology and Geophysics (AZ), Institute of Geology and Geophysics (CN), The Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies
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