Magnetically Controlled Transport of Nanoparticles in Solid Tumor Tissues and Porous Media Using a Tumor-on-a-Chip Format

This study addresses issues in developing spatially controlled magnetic fields for particle guidance, synthesizing biocompatible and chemically stable MNPs and enhancing their specificity to pathological cells through chemical modifications, developing personalized adjustments, and highlighting the potential of tumor-on-a-chip systems, which can simulate tissue environments and assess drug efficacy and dosage in a controlled setting. The research focused on two MNP types, uncoated magnetite nanoparticles (mMNPs) and carboxymethyl dextran coated superparamagnetic nanoparticles (CD-SPIONs), and evaluated their transport properties in microfluidic systems and porous media. The original uncoated mMNPs of bimodal size distribution and the narrow size distribution of the fractions (23 nm and 106 nm by radii) were demonstrated to agglomerate in magnetically driven microfluidic flow, forming a stable stationary web consisting of magnetic fibers within 30 min. CD-SPIONs were demonstrated to migrate in agar gel with the mean pore size equal to or slightly higher than the particle size. The migration velocity was inversely proportional to the size of particles. No compression of the gel was observed under the magnetic field gradient of 40 T/m. In the brain tissue, particles of sizes 220, 350, 820 nm were not penetrating the tissue, while the compression of tissue was observed. The particles of 95 nm size penetrated the tissue at the edge of the sample, and no compression was observed. For all particles, movement through capillary vessels was observed.