DYNAMICS OF MAGETIC DRUG TARGETING IN CARDIOVASCULAR FLOWS

摘要

In spite of the level of sophistication and development of medicine, the effective delivery of drugs remains an unsolved problem. The conventional method to deliver drugs is to inject them intravenously to the patient, or administer a pill capsule. The medicine diffuses through the bloodstream without regard to the location of the malady. For many types of diseases, the inefficiency of this method leads to increased dosage requirements, which can cause the patient to experience adverse side effects. One of the newest and most promising solutions to the drug delivery challenge is found in the rapidly evolving field of Magnetic Drug Targeting (MDT). MDT involves magnetically guiding in the blood or lymphatic circulation system droplets or particles of a biocompatible ferrofluid. The ferrofluid has specific chemotherapeutic agents bonded reversibly to the super-paramagnetic nanoparticles [1]. These droplets carry drugs and release them at target sites in the human body (by means of magnetic forces), thereby enhancing the efficacy of the drug while simultaneously minimizing its harmful side effects to other tissues and organs. This study investigates the hemodynamics of a ferrofluid subjected to a magnetic field under arterial flow conditions in order to understand the interplay of physical mechanisms that control the efficacy of this new drug delivery technology. To the author's knowledge, this research is one of the first quantitative experimental studies of the interaction of a ferrofluid with a host fluid.