Lately the health care professionals are turning to magnetic particles for different tasks arising in process of medical treatment. The exploitability of this method is obvious because magnetic particles can be controlled by external magnetic field, and no allenthesis is needed.
FERROFLUID FOR TREATING ULCERS AND FISTULAS
The method comprises inserting ferrofluid into fistulous tract and attaching a permanent magnet to its outer opening. The fixed position of ferrofluid in fistulous tract carefully seals the fistula, not interfering with the healing process.
FERROFLUID HELPS TO PRESERVE VISION
Patients with affected retina can be prevented from blindness. Retina is a very thin, photosensitive tissue on the rearer side of the eye. If it is somehow affected or starts laminating due to a trauma or sickness, vision grows weaker and a person can become blind. Usually silicone liquid is used to get the retina back to its place, but magnetized ferrolfuid can do much better.
This method is much more accurate since it allows the fluid to move under action of an external magnet and reach the areas of the eye that can’t be reached by other means.
COURIER FERROFLUID
Casual drug therapy is becoming more and more popular due to magnetic couriers — magnetic particles attached to biomolecules, drug or diagnostics agent particles. Magnetic couriers ensure two unique advantages for bio systems. Used for making other molecules, they can be detected by a highly sensitive magnetoresistive sensor system. On the other hand, molecules attached to magnetic couriers are easy to manipulate by external magnetic field. It is associated both with delivering medicine to a designated internal organ and with keeping it there.
FERROFLUID HYPERTHERMIA
Ferrofluid-based hyperthermia is primarily meant for treating one of the most malignant brain tumor — glioblastoma.
The concept of this technique is the following. Fluid containing microscopic iron particles is inserted into the tumor tissue under anesthesia. The iron particles are uptaken by the cancer cells. Then the tumor is acted upon by external magnetic field, and iron nanoparticles grow hotter, up to 45°C.
Such a heating destroys tumor tissue and intensifies the follow-up X-ray therapy simultaneously.
Ferrofluid-based hyperthermia has been in researched for 12 years and has successfully tested on animals.
MAGNETIC NANOPARTICLES DESTROY CANCER CELLS
Under magnetic field, multifunctional nanoparticles can reach into cancer cells, piercing their membranes. Nanoparticle core is iron oxide. The researchers have discovered that under magnetic field, the particles inside cancer cells are able to break though the membrane of cancer cells.
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