Table 1
Organic macromolecules and their advantages of functionalized iron oxide NPs
Polymers	Advantages		References
Natural Polymers	Dextran	Enables optimum polar interactions with iron oxide surfaces, improves the blood circulation time, stability, and biocompatibility	[64-67]
	Starch	Improves the biocompatibility, good for MRI, and drug target delivery	[68,69]
	Gelatin	Used as a gelling agent, hydrophilic emulsifier, biocompatible	[70-72]
	Chitosan	Non-toxic, alkaline, hydrophilic, widely used as non-viral gene delivery system, biocompatible, and hydrophilic	[73-75]
Synthetic Polymers	Poly(ethyleneglycol) (PEG)	Enhance the hydrophilicity and water-solublility, improves the biocompatibility, blood circulation times	[76-78]
	Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)	Prevents agglomeration, giving rise to monodispersibility	[79-81]
	Poly(lactide acid) (PLA)	Improves the biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low toxicity in human body	[82,83]
	Alginate	Improves the stability and biocompatibility	[84,85]
	Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)	Generally used as thermosensitive drug delivery and cell separation	[86-88]
	Polyacrylic acid (PAA)	Improves stability and biocompatibility as well as bioconjugation	[89,90]

Wu et al. Nanoscale Research Letters 2008 3:397   doi:10.1186/1556-276X-3-397