Category Archives: Magnetic drug targeting

Doubling particle capture from laminar flow requires quadruple force

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Particle trajectories in a parabolic and constant velocity profile

Capturing particles or droplets from a flow is relevant for various applications like continuous separators, aerosol removal, and magnetic drug targeting. In a laminar flow, doubling the capturing of a small fraction of particles turns out to require a four times higher force or length of pipe or a four times lower flow velocity (Eq. 12). This is because particles from twice as far away have to be captured from a location where the flow velocity in a laminar flow is also twice as high. This simple scaling law, with an analytical correction for flow through cylindrical pipes (Eq. 35),  turns out to hold well for a wide range of different force fields.

Magnetic particle motion in a Poiseuille flow
J. W. Haverkort, S. Kenjeres, and C. R. Kleijn

Annals of Biomedical Engineering, vol. 37, nr. 12, p. 2436-2448
© 2009 DOI: 10.1007/s10439-009-9786-y

Magnetic drug targeting possible even in large arteries

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Movie

By attaching drugs to magnetic nanoparticles, magnetic fields can concentrate them at the location in the body where they are needed. Pre-clinical trials have shown some potential for treatment of superficial cancer tumors. More applications could be envisioned when targets deeper in the body can be reached.

Our 2009 publication was perhaps the first three-dimensional simulation showing that it is possible to capture particles from the bloodstream of large arteries like the coronary and carotid artery. This opens up the possibility of applying the technique to combat also cardiovascular diseases.

Because of an old theorem, the drugs can only be held in a stable position deep inside the body using a dynamic magnetic field configuration or in a quasi-stable position using carefully tailored magnetic fields. Despite this fundamental complication, progress remains to be made today, particularly from the perspective of computational modeling.

Computational Simulations of Magnetic Particle Capture in Arterial Flows
J. W. Haverkort, S. Kenjeres, and C. R. Kleijn