Potential of first-order magnetic phase transition for biomedical applications

Materials with antiferromagnetic first order magnetic phase transition (FOMPT) possess no net magnetisation in a zero applied magnetic field. However, on the application of a magnetic field, a sudden appearance of spontaneous magnetisation, i.e. the first order transition occurs. Unlike ferromagnetic powders, the first order materials do not form unwanted agglomerates while a high magnetisation state could yield higher heating power than superparamagnetic materials due to the sudden change in magnetisation. This thesis investigated the effect of particle size on the magnetic properties of FOMPT microparticles and explored the potential of first order materials as heating agents for cancer therapy.