Inorganic-Organic Magnetic Nanocomposites for use in Preventive Medicine: A Rapid and Reliable Elimination System for Cesium.

Purpose: To investigate the potential use of Prussian blue-coated magnetic nanoparticles, termed 'Prussian blueberry', to bring about the magnetic elimination of cesium. Methods: Prussian blueberry were prepared by a layer-by-layer assembly method. The morphology, structure and physical properties of the Prussian blueberry were investigated as was their ability to magnetically eliminate cesium. Results: We confirmed that Prussian blueberry were composed of a magnetite nanoparticle-core and a Prussian blue-shell. Under a magnetic field, Prussian blueberry (5 mg) reduced the cesium concentration of seawater (3 ml) from 150 ppm to about 50 ppm; but regular Prussian blue could not magnetically eliminate cesium. Moreover, Prussian blueberry removed a similar proportion of cesium from a larger volume of seawater, and from fetal bovine serum and cow's milk. Conclusions: Under a magnetic field, Prussian blueberry was able to rapidly eliminate cesium from seawater and from biological matrices such as serum and milk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]