Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have widely been synthesized through chemical processes for biomedical applications over the past few decades. Recently, a new class of MNPs, known as bacterial magnetosomes, has been isolated from magnetotactic bacteria, a natural source. These magnetosomes are magnetite or greigite nanocrystals which are biomineralized in the bacterial cell and provide magnet-like properties to it. Contrary to MNPs, bacterial magnetosomes are biocompatible, lower in toxicity, and can be easily cleared from the body due to the presence of a phospholipid bilayer around them. They also do not demonstrate aggregation, which makes them highly advantageous. In this review, we have provided an in-depth comparative account of bacterial magnetosomes and chemically synthesized MNPs in terms of their synthesis, properties, and biomedical applications. In addition, we have also provided a contrast on how magnetosomes might have the potential to successfully substitute synthetic MNPs in therapeutic and imaging applications.

在过去的几十年中，磁性纳米颗粒（MNP）已通过化学过程广泛用于生物医学应用。最近，已经从趋磁细菌（一种天然来源）中分离出一种新型的MNP，称为细菌磁小体。这些磁小体是在细菌细胞中被生物矿化的磁铁矿或钙铁矿纳米晶体，并为其提供类似磁铁的特性。与MNP相反，细菌磁小体具有生物相容性，毒性较低，并且由于它们周围存在磷脂双层，因此很容易从体内清除。它们也没有显示聚集，这使它们具有很大的优势。在这篇综述中，我们就细菌磁小体和化学合成的MNP的合成，性质，和生物医学应用。此外，我们还就磁小体在治疗和成像应用中如何成功替代合成MNP的潜力提供了对比。