A scaleable chemical approach to functional nanoscale analogues of the magnetic compasses in magnetotactic bacteria is described. LiMo3Se3-Fe3O4 nanowire-nanoparticle composites were synthesized by a reaction of 3-iodopropionic acid treated LiMo3Se3 nanowire bundles with oleic acid-stabilized Fe3O4 nanoparticles of 2.8, 5.3, and 12.5 nm size in tetrahydrofuran. Transmission electron micrographs show that the composite consists of Fe3O4 nanoparticles attached to the surfaces of the 4-6 nm thick nanowire bundles. UV/vis spectra reveal absorptions from the nanowire (506 nm) and magnetite components (280-450 nm), and IR spectra show characteristic bands for the propionic acid linkers and for the residual oleic acid ligands on the magnetite particles. In the presence of excess oleic acid, the nanocomposites undergo rapid disassembly, suggesting that Fe3O4 nanoparticles are bonded to nanowires via carboxylate groups from the linkers. Ultrasonication of a dispersion of the composite in THF produces individual LiMo3Se3-Fe3O4 clusters, which are 340 +/- 107 nm long and 20 +/- 5 nm thick, depending on the sonication time and Fe3O4 nanoparticle size. Field cooled and zero-field cooled magnetization measurements reveal that the blocking temperature (T-B = 100 K) of the clusters with 5.3 nm Fe3O4 is increased as compared to the free nanoparticles (T-B = 30 K). Directional dipolar interactions in the clusters lead to magnetic anisotropy, which makes it possible to align the clusters in a magnetic field (900 Oe).