Magnetic Fields Deliver Drug-Loaded Nanoparticles
The latest in a series of studies at CHOP Research led by Robert Levy, MD, the William J. Rashkind Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cardiology, demonstrated that magnetically guided nanoparticles delivered drug to metal stents in injured blood vessels, preventing blockages better than conventional non-magnetic stent therapy. The team found that treatment with magnetized nanoparticles and stents led to a higher volume of nanoparticles in stented arteries and significantly lower reobstruction rates 14 days following treatment in rats with carotid artery stents when compared to control rats that received the stents and nanoparticles but were not exposed to the magnetic field. This approach, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could potentially be used to deliver a broad range of effective therapeutic agents.
