Simulation of a 2D Magnetic Drug Targeting Model

Abstract

Abstract-One of the major drawbacks of chemotherapy in cancer treatment of various human organs is the fact that the used anticancer therapeutics (medication) inevitably attack both healthy tissue and tumors. In order to guide the drug to a specific location, the optimal technique used within the human body is the magnetic drug targeting (MDT) due to its non-invasive character and its high targeting efficiency. In this method, magnetic carrier particles loaded with drug molecules are injected into the microvasculature and attracted towards the targeted region in the body by a permanent magnet. In this work a mathematical model is developed for measuring the trajectories of the nanoparticles, their direction and the flow speed. The mixed blood flow enters a 1cm large vessel where blood is being pumped by the heart pulses. The simulation investigates whether the flow will follow a vessel located closer to the entrance of the fluid flow away from the magnet or whether the magnetic field will pull the nanoparticles towards the area of interest beneath the magnet. The model couples a magneto static model to a hydrodynamic problem taking into account the dominant magnetic force. It is assumed that the effect of the electric field is negligible. The results obtained from the numerical solution showed that the fluid flow is appreciably influenced by the applied magnetic field and that the ferro fluid is attracted to the zone where the magnet is located whereas the normal blood can reach all tissues. (Abstract)