Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), with appropriate surface coatings, are commonly used for biomedical applications, such as drug delivery. For the successful application of SPIONs, it is necessary that the nanoparticles have well-defined morphological, structural and magnetic characteristics, in addition to high stability and biocompatibility in biological environments. The present work is focused on the synthesis and characterization of SPIONs, which were prepared using the co-precipitation method and have great potential for drug delivery. The surfaces of the SPIONs were functionalized with the tripeptide glutathione (GSH) and poly( ethylene glycol) (PEG) to form GSH-SPIONs and PEG-GSH-SPIONs. The structural, morphological, magnetic properties and the cytotoxicity of the obtained nanoparticles were characterized using different techniques. The results showed that the nanoparticles have a mean diameter of 10 nm in the solid state and are superparamagnetic at room temperature. No cytotoxicity was observed for either nanoparticle (up to 500 mu g L-1) on mouse normal fibroblasts (3T3 cell line) or acute T cell leukemia (Jurkat cell line) after 24 h of incubation. Free thiol groups (SH) on the surfaces of GSH-SPIONs and PEG-GSH-SPIONs were nitrosated, leading to the formation of S-nitrosated SPIONs, which act as a nitric oxide (NO) donor. The amounts of NO released from GSNO-SPIONs and PEG-GSNO-SPIONs were (124.0 +/- 1.0) mu mol and (33.2 +/- 5.1) mu mol of NO per gram, respectively. This study highlights the successful capping of the SPION surfaces with antioxidant GSH and biocompatible PEG, which improved the dispersion and biocompatibility of the NPs in aqueous/biological environments, thereby enhancing the potential uses of SPIONs as drug delivery systems, such as a NO donor vehicle, in biomedical applications. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.