Synergist Therapy for Enhanced Drug Delivery: Magnetic Field Facilitated Nanoparticle Microporation

Therapeutic delivery of anticancer agents is a hallmark of treatment. However, these agents are sometimes given in high doses, which may be toxic to the cells. Toxicity, cost to manufacture, and poor uptake increases the demand for delivery methods that reduce the amount of agent that has to be delivered, and enhances delivery and uptake of the agents into the cells. Researchers at Kansas State University have demonstrated that the use of magnetic nanoparticles (NP) in conjunction with magnetic fields (MF) can increase transport and accumulation of existing anticancer agents within cancer cells without any toxicity associated effects from the NP and MF themselves.

This synergist combination strategy allows for an increased penetration of agents into said cells, thereby allowing for enhanced concentration of the agent in a rapid fashion. These researchers have shown that magnetic pulses are effective in triggering the drug load into cells, allowing rapid transport of material from the exterior environment to the interior by creating micropores. This combination is responsible for an increase in cell death. It was observed that there was a 75% increase in therapeutic concentration within the cells treated with the MF and NP compared to cells not treated either MF and/or NP. Given the significant increase in concentration of the desired agent by this combinational MF and NP method, we envision that this dual-targeting strategy would allow for the single or combinational delivery of agents to cancer cells.

Advantages:

• Increased uptake. Enhances effects of the anti-cancer agents (such as: doxorubicin) up to 65% under non-optimized conditions
• Microporation: Localizes the effect around the nanoparticles
• Magnetic field attenuation: More favorable than ultrasound induced microporation

Applications:

• Increased drug delivery into cancer cells

Additional Details