paper

The benefits of a Bayesian analysis for the characterization of magnetic nanoparticles

arXiv:2005.09325 · doi:10.1088/1361-6528/aba57b

Abstract

Magnetic nanoparticles offer a unique potential for various biomedical applications, but prior to commercial usage a standardized characterization of their structural and magnetic properties is required. For a thorough characterization, the combination of conventional magnetometry and advanced scattering techniques has shown great potential. In the present work, we characterize a powder sample of high-quality iron oxide nanoparticles that are surrounded with a homogeneous thick silica shell by DC magnetometry and magnetic small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). To retrieve the particle parameters such as their size distribution and saturation magnetization from the data, we apply standard model fits of individual data sets as well as global fits of multiple curves, including a combination of the magnetometry and SANS measurements. We show that by combining a standard least-squares fit with a subsequent Bayesian approach for the data refinement, the probability distributions of the model parameters and their cross correlations can be readily extracted, which enables a direct visual feedback regarding the quality of the fit. This prevents an overfitting of data in case of highly correlated parameters and renders the Bayesian method as an ideal component for a standardized data analysis of magnetic nanoparticle samples.

arXiv commentThis is the version of the article accepted for publication in Nanotechnology including all changes made as a result of the peer review process, and which may also include the addition to the article by IOP of a header, an article ID, a cover sheet and/or an Accepted Manuscript watermark, but excluding any other editing, typesetting or other changes made by IOP and/or its licensors

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