Nanotechnology, one of the most important disruptive technologies, is essential for the development of societies in the current global framework. As part of the so-called converging technologies, its applications have expanded in recent years to fields as diverse as medicine, agriculture, energy production, and environmental care. In this context, advances in nanotechnology are enabling the generation of a wide range of new materials, products, processes, and high-value-added services, thus impacting the quality of life at all levels of contemporary society.

This project aims to address the challenges of nanoengineering multifunctional materials for biological applications, focusing primarily on the field of medicine. The design, fabrication, and characterization of multifunctional nanoheterostructures for localized hyperthermia and imaging applications will be addressed, contributing to the treatment and diagnosis of diseases such as cancer or COVID-19.

Specifically, the proposal involves optimizing the morphology and size of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) that exhibit superparamagnetic behavior, in order to use them in magnetic hyperthermia. For this, MNPs will be synthesized, and when subjected to an oscillating magnetic field, they will locally increase their temperature in such a way that they can directly induce cellular apoptosis or release drugs in a localized manner. Additionally, it is essential that the surface of the nanoparticles be functionalized with organic molecules to ensure their biocompatibility, guaranteeing the safety of the treatment and accurately measuring the efficiency of magnetic hyperthermia. Therefore, the MNPs will be characterized before and after functionalization to observe the changes in their properties.

To this end, once the magnetic nanomaterials are produced at the National University of Colombia, Bogotá campus, proof-of-concept tests will be conducted on the magnetic hyperthermia equipment at the ECCI University, measuring the specific absorption rate and other indicators in hyperthermia tests. It is expected that these multifunctional nanosystems will significantly impact the field of biomedicine and health, particularly in the formulation of future therapies that help treat and mitigate the effects of cancer or COVID-19.