The invention combines the capabilities for tracking, sensing and steering the properties of magnetic nanostructures undergoing a synthesis process. The invention relates to an apparatus for tracking the genesis and growth of magnetic nanostructures in an ongoing chemical synthesis process and techniques to tailor the magnetic properties of nanostructures by a feedback that controls chemical, physical, and/or biological parameters of the synthesis process or by application of specific static or dynamic magnetic fields.The hardware setup of such an apparatus and methods for manipulating and steering the growth of magnetic nanostructures are described. The apparatus is capable of tracking real-time changes in the magnetic properties and displaying them in e. g. amplitude and phase spectra, hysteresis curves and estimated particle size distributions. With appropriate parameter adjustments at different time points the desired physical and magnetic properties of the nanoparticles can be produced. For instance, if magnetic nanoparticles for magnetic particle imaging (MPI) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shall be produced, the spectrum of their magnetic response can be appropriately manipulated. Embedded into a continuous-flow synthesis concept the in-synthesis spectrometry combined with the control feedback allows for quality assurance in a production of nanostructures at an industrial level.
