Magneto-electric nanoparticles (MENPs), composed of a piezoelectric shell and a ferromagnetic core, exhibited enhanced cell uptake and controlled drug release due to the enhanced localized electric field (surface charge/potential) and the generation of acoustics, respectively, upon applying alternating current (AC) magnetic (B)-field stimulation. This research, for the first time, implements an electrochemical single-entity approach to probe AC B-field induced strain mediated surface potential enhancement on MENP surface. The surface potential changes at the single-NP level can be probed by the open circuit potential changes of the floating carbon nanoelectrode (CNE) during the MENP-CNE collision events. The results confirmed that the AC B-field (60 Oe) stimulation caused localized surface potential enhancement of MENP. This observation is associated with the presence of a piezoelectric shell, whereas magnetic nanoparticles were found unaffected under identical stimulation.
Keywords: Magneto-electric nanoparticles; carbon nanoelectrode; nanoimpact; nanopipette; single-entity experiment; surface charge probing.