MOSCOW, 9 but I. SSU scientists as part of an international scientific team studied the capture of magnetically controlled capsules by a magnetic field source. In the study, the authors determined the optimal parameters for the synthesis of magnetically controlled capsules for the most efficient capture and control. The results are published in the journal Molecules.
Remote control of magnetically controlled capsules is a promising approach to targeted drug delivery, said scientists from the Saratov National Research State University named after N.G. Chernyshevsky (SSU).
Targeted delivery is one of the main methods for reducing side effects in drug therapy, in which the active substance accumulates directly in the place necessary for treatment. Also magnetic capsules can be used to detect and sort circulating tumor cells. In a published work, the possibility of capturing and sorting tumor cells that captured magnetic capsules was shown.
The possibility of capturing magnetic objects in a fluid flow is determined by the ratio of the magnetic field strength and the force of viscous resistance. Thus, the capturing ability is limited by the magnetic properties of objects, their size and flow speed.
In their work, SSU scientists demonstrated the dependence of the number of captured capsules on their size, on the loading of magnetic nanoparticles and on the suspension flow rate. The scientists also evaluated the possibility of magnetic capture of cells containing magnetic capsules in the flow, and then evaluated the integrity of cell membranes.
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In their opinion, the results obtained can be used not only to determine the optimal synthesis parameters, but can also be used in calculations to determine the concentration of the delivered drug. Knowing the parameters of the blood vessel, magnet and magnetic carriers, it becomes possible to estimate how much substance can be delivered and accumulated in a certain place in the body.
“Despite the importance of a thorough study of this process in order to validate the concept of magnetically controlled drug delivery, it has not been sufficiently studied. The introduction of such approaches into medical practice requires a thorough study of the magnetic capture process,” said Oleg Grishin, junior researcher at the Laboratory of Biomedical Photoacoustics of SSU.