Swarm of magnetic nanoparticles steering in multi-bifurcation vessels under fluid flow

Abstract

Magnetic drug targeting has emerged as a promising approach for enhancing the efficiency of drug delivery. Recent developments in real-time monitoring techniques have enabled the guidance of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) in the vascular network. Despite recent developments in magnetic navigation, no comprehensive strategy for swarm of nanoparticles steering under fluid flow exists. This paper introduces a strategy for MNPs steering in a vascular network under fluid flow. In the proposed scheme, the swarm of nanoparticles are initially guided to an area that guarantees their successful guidance towards a desired direction (called safe zone) using an asymmetrical field function to handle swarm of nanoparticles. Then, a transporter field function is used to transfer the particles between the safe zones, and finally a sustainer field function is used to keep the particles within the safe zone. A steering algorithm is proposed to enhance the targeting performance in the multi-bifurcation vessel. Utilizing the proposed concept, a high success rate for targeting is achieved in simulations, which demonstrates the potential and limitations of swarm of nanoparticles steering under fluid flow. © 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.