Abstract
Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are unique in their abilities to penetrate and interact with a wide range of liquid media. Because of their magnetic properties, MNPs can be directed to any area of interest, and interact with core structures deep inside the medium which is normally inaccessible. In this report, we investigate the behavior of MNPs in a specific biological fluid, namely in a mucus layer of air–liquid interface cultured primary normal human tracheobronchial epithelial cells. Using Fokker–Planck algorithm simulations and observing the behavior of MNPs from prior experiments, we found MNPs that are initially less than 100 nm in size, to aggregate into sizes of ~50 μm and to deviate from the expected Fokker–Planck distribution due to the mucus structure. Based on our analysis, human tracheobronchial epithelial (NHTE) cell mucus viscosity ranges from 15 Pa·s to 150 Pa·s. The results not only confirm the possible use of MNPs as a means for medical drug delivery but also underline important consequences of MNP surface modifications.
Highlights
Nanoparticles (NPs), both natural and synthetic, have been used as devices for material modification and micron sized molecule transport in a wide range of applications
We found Rm to decrease with the number of surface modifications and to decrease with fluids of increasing η
Instead of going through simple Brownian diffusion, Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) particles would be pulled through the mucus pores by the magnetic field (MF)
Summary
Nanoparticles (NPs), both natural and synthetic, have been used as devices for material modification and micron sized molecule transport in a wide range of applications. Ions moving through fluids may drag other molecules along with them as they move, due to ionic interactions The result of this is an effective particle radius, called Stokes’ radius, that arises from ionic mobility effects [9] but is distinct from the ion’s physical radius. This Stokes radius is a direct result of modified Stokes’ law, taking into account ionic charges and their effect on surface adhesion Another example is marine plankton aggregates [10]. Modification to Stokes’ law takes into account the molecular aggregate’s porosity in the case of marine aggregates, or the degree of adhesion at the particle surface in the case of ionic particles Often, these modifications reflect some aspects of the particle or fluid’s chemical or physical properties, we might perceive deviations from Stokes’ law as an indication of unrevealed interactions between particles
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