Comment on 'Preparation and antibacterial activity of Fe3O4@Ag nanoparticles'.

The fabrication of nanocomposite materials with a metal-oxide@nobel-metal structure represents a challenge both from the theoretical and experimental points of view. This challenge is connected with a complicated mechanism of formation of these nanocomposite materials. In the paper by Gong et al (2007 Nanotechnology 18 285604), the authors tried to solve this problem but the suggested mechanism is rather improbable. This improbability derived from the found discrepancy in the material balance of reactants/products. Therefore this comment is devoted to evaluation of this discrepancy of the Fe(3)O(4)@Ag nanoparticle preparation and suggestion of another possible mechanism.