Drug targeting system for focusing magnetic nanoparticles toward a blood vessel wall using an array of permanent magnets

Abstract

Medical technology using magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) is a treatment method that is being continuously studied. In particular, targeted drug delivery (TDD) is being studied as a treatment method that can eliminate the side effects of drugs. It requires research on how to move the drug containing nanoparticles to the targets. However, it is not easy to control nanoscale particles because it requires a strong enough force and a system that detects the location of nanoparticles in real time. Simultaneous measurement and control of nanoparticles is very difficult. Therefore, our work has focused on collecting nanoparticles at a target area after injection through a catheter placed near the target, which is a method that is highly likely to be used in reality. This paper proposes a system for concentrating MNPs at the target location through a simple array of permanent magnets. Using a static magnetic field, we created a permanent magnet system for use on targets at two depths. We also propose a more efficient permanent magnet array using a Halbach array. We have devised an efficient magnet arrangement through simulation and demonstrated the possibility of focusing MNPs at the target inside a blood vessel through a simple in-vitro experiment.