2018 年 42 巻 2 号 p. 55-61
Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is a novel diagnostic imaging technique based on the use of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). Investigating the magnetic properties of magnetic nanoparticles is important for achieving a high spatial and temporal resolution in MPI. In this study, γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles (core diameter: dc = 4 nm), Fe3O4 nanoparticles (dc = 20–30 nm), and Resovist® were immobilized in a DC magnetic field with their easy axes aligned. DC and AC magnetization curves were measured for the prepared MNPs. The measurements were performed by applying fields parallel and perpendicular to the easy axis and evaluating the magnetic properties of the MNPs for the easy and hard axes. The direction of magnetic moments under the AC magnetic field applied to the direction of the easy axis or hard axis was evaluated by using both experimental results and numeric simulation using the Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation to reveal magnetic relaxation property at wide frequency range and the effect of core size distribution of oriented MNPs. The effect of anisotropy in superparamagnetic nanoparticles, the relaxation property depending on the anisotropy energy barrier, and the fast magnetization process of Néel relaxation were successfully observed.
