Abstract
The primary limitation of magnetic drug targeting (MDT) relates to the strength of an external magnetic field which decreases with increasing distance. Small nanoparticles (NPs) displaying superparamagnetic behaviour are also required in order to reduce embolization in the blood vessel. The small NPs, however, make it difficult to vector NPs and keep them in the desired location. The aims of this work were to investigate parameters influencing the capture efficiency of the drug carriers in mimicked arterial flow. In this work, we computationally modelled and evaluated capture efficiency in MDT with COMSOL Multiphysics 4.4. The studied parameters were (i) magnetic nanoparticle size, (ii) three classes of magnetic cores (Fe3O4, Fe2O3, and Fe), and (iii) the thickness of biocompatible coating materials (Au, SiO2, and PEG). It was found that the capture efficiency of small particles decreased with decreasing size and was less than 5 % for magnetic particles in the superparamagnetic regime. The thickness of non-magnetic coating materials did not significantly influence the capture efficiency of MDT. It was difficult to capture small drug carriers (D<200 nm) in the arterial flow. We suggest that the MDT with high-capture efficiency can be obtained in small vessels and low-blood velocities such as micro-capillary vessels.
Highlights
In magnetic drug targeting (MDT), magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) coated with therapeutic agents are injected into the blood vessels
Blood flow After a steady-state simulation was calculated for the magnetic field in all domains, transient simulations based on the Navier-Stokes equation were performed for the arterial flow
Particles larger than 2 μm were efficiently captured at the desired location by the external magnetic field, and the capture efficiency was approximately 95 %
Summary
In magnetic drug targeting (MDT), magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) coated with therapeutic agents are injected into the blood vessels. They are vectored to specific targets by an externally applied magnetic field. This allows therapy to be concentrated in abnormal tissues while keeping therapeutic concentrations low reducing side effects. Responsive drug carriers can be magnetite (Fe3O4) or maghemite (Fe2O3). Their properties are related to their size. As the particle size decreases toward some critical diameter (Dc) the formation of domain walls becomes unfavourable, and the particles
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