Tailoring magnetic supraparticles for object identification by magnetic particle spectroscopy

Marking and identification of materials is becoming increasingly important due to complex global resource and supply chains. In this work, a miniaturized magnetic marking technology based on so-called supraparticles is presented. The hierarchical buildup of these microparticles, which are assembled from nanoparticles, allows to precisely tailor their structure. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as building blocks are used in this work. By surface modification and mixing them with silica nanoparticles, respectively, the supraparticle structure is varied. It is demonstrated that these structural modifications are readily detected by magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS). Thereby, various distinguishable magnetic signals are feasible, which are even detected after incorporation into dark plastic. The presented magnetic marking technology thus proves its potential as an alternative marking technology to optical labels.