Analysis of Particle Trajectories for Magnetic Drug Targeting

The technique of magnetic drug targeting consists of binding genetic material or drugs to superparamagnetic nanoparticles and accumulating them via an external magnetic field in a target region. However, it is still a challenge for this approach to succeed in areas with high flow rates, like the aorta or the heart ventricle. The magnetic field sources have to be accurately optimized and adapted to the local conditions. To achieve this, the trajectories of the magnetic nanoparticles can be calculated with respect to the physiological boundary conditions, the magnetic properties of the external field source and of the particles as well as the hydrodynamics of the blood flow and pressure. Subsequently, the amount of particles, which can be retained by the external magnetic field source at the target location, can be estimated. An analysis of the particle trajectories with respect to physical boundary conditions as well as the magnetic and hydrodynamic forces is presented.