Innovative approaches are of outstanding importance to devise technologies for dealing with eutrophication of inland waters. This study provides a quantitative estimate showing the convenience of using magnetic nano- and micronsized particles as phosphate absorbents and their later removal from solution by high gradient magnetic separation. Two different materials are investigated (iron and magnetite) having a controlled shape and size well in the colloidal domain. Magnetite particles adsorb more phosphate (empirical saturation constant = 27.15 mg P g(-1) Fe) than iron particles (empirical saturation constant = 18.83 mg P g(-1) Fe) as a consequence of the different particle size (average values for particle diameters of 90.6 +/- 1.2 and 805 +/- 10 nm for magnetite and for iron. respectively). A protocol is established for the successful reutilization of these magnetic particles by repeated washing with NaOH and therefore, optimizing the economic cost of this technology. Magnetic particles are also surface treated with amino silane groups (APTS) to counteract magnetic and van der Waals attractive interactions and promote kinetic stability. APTS-coated iron particles experience a notable increase in phosphate maximum adsorption capacity which could be explained by a remarkable increase in electrophoretic mobility. We propose the use of APTS-coated iron particles which are less-expensive and easy to obtain as a promising technique for lake restoration. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.