Magnetic nanoparticles are promising new tools for therapeutic
applications, such as magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia therapy and targeted
drug delivery. Recent in vitro studies have demonstrated that a force
application with magnetic tweezers can also affect cell fate, suggesting a
therapeutic potential for magnetically modulated mechanical stimulation. The
magnetic properties of nanoparticles that induce physical responses and the
subtle responses that result from mechanically induced membrane damage and/or
intracellular signaling are evaluated. Magnetic particles with various physical,
geometric, and magnetic properties and specific functionalization can now be
used to apply mechanical force to specific regions of cells, which permit the
modulation of cellular behavior through the use of spatially and time controlled
magnetic fields. On one hand, mechanochemical stimulation has been used to
direct the outgrowth on neuronal growth cones, indicating a therapeutic
potential for neural repair. On the other hand, it has been used to kill cancer
cells that preferentially express specific receptors. Advances made in the
synthesis and characterization of magnetic nanomaterials and a better
understanding of cellular mechanotransduction mechanisms may support the
translation of mechanochemical stimulation into the clinic as an emerging
therapeutic approach.