Enhancing magnetic drug targeting efficiency through computational analysis: Investigating Particle-RBC interaction and non-newtonian blood behavior

Abstract

Cancer stands as a foremost global mortality determinant, characterized by a persistent deficit in therapeutic modalities capable of reliably and efficiently conveying anti-cancer pharmaceutical agents to profound tissue loci. Within this context, magnetic drug targeting (MDT) has emerged as an innovative approach to cancer management, offering the promise of minimal adverse effects. Accordingly, the current investigation endeavors to evaluate the capture efficacy (CE) of drug-loaded nanoparticles under the influence of an external magnetic field. To this end, a cylindrical neodymium magnet (NdFeB) is employed as the magnetic source. The finite element method (FEM) was utilized to solve the governing equations. The effect of several parameters, including particle diameter, drag force, blood properties, magnetic field intensity, blood’s non-Newtonian behavior, and particle-RBC interaction on the CE of nanoparticles has been investigated. Simultaneous effect of interaction forces and non-Newtonian behavior of blood on the capturing nanoparticles at the tumor site is considered as the novelty of the present work. Taking into account these two parameters will provide more realistic results. Finding showed that the magnetic field intensity and particles’ diameter positively affect the nanoparticles’ CE. For example, by increasing particle diameter from 250 nm to 1500 nm, the CE is increased from 22 % to 53 %, respectively. In addition, it was revealed that consideration of the particle-red blood cell (RBC) interaction, on average, causes a decrease in the CE of nanoparticles by up to 20 %. Regarding the non-Newtonian behavior of blood, it was found that considering blood as non-Newtonian fluid would decrease, on average, 25 % of CE of nanoparticles compared to Newtonian fluid. Results revealed that simultaneous considering the non-Newtonian behavior of blood and interaction forces significantly affect the CE of nanoparticles.