Emerging Biomedical Applications of Magnetic Nanoparticles in Dynamic Magnetic Fields

Magnetic nanoparticles are of interest in biomedical applications due to their unique response to applied magnetic fields. Well established examples include their use for immunomagnetic separation and as magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents. In recent years, attention has shifted to understanding and exploiting the response of magnetic nanoparticles to time-varying magnetic fields. Under such conditions, these field responsive biomaterials may rotate, transform magnetic field energy to heat, or generate signals suitable for imaging. This behavior has enabled new and exciting applications, including thermal cancer therapy, sentinel lymph node detection, and magnetically triggered drug delivery. In this talk, the principles that relate nanoparticle physical and magnetic properties to application performance will be presented through examples of our recent work, including evaluating nanoparticle diffusion in biological fluids, achieving unprecedented resolution in magnetic particle imaging, and developing stable magnetic cryoprotecting agent solutions for rapid rewarming of cryopreserved organs.