Optimizing drug delivery using non-uniform magnetic fields: a numerical study

A comprehensive computational model for simulating magnetic drug targeting was developed and extensively tested in a cylindrical geometry. The efficiency for particle capture in a specific magnetic field and geometry was shown to be dependent on a single dimensionless number. The effect of secondary flows, a non-Newtonian viscosity and oscillatory flows were quantified. Simulations under the demanding flow conditions of the left coronary artery were performed. Using the properties of present-day magnetic carriers and superconducting magnets, approximately one third of 4μm particles could be captured with an external field. These promising results could open up the way to a minimally invasive treatment of coronary atherosclerosis.