Scientific and Clinical Applications of Magnetic Carriers

Magnetic Carrier Meeting 2010 in Rostock a Big Success !

The 8th International Conference on the Scientific and Clinical Applications of Magnetic Carriers took place in Rostock, Germany from May 25-29, 2010 and was again a full success. We had 370 participants from 43 countries! For more details and the program, see here.

Abstract Deadline for German Ferrofluid Workshop on July 30
July 27, 2010

It is now already the 10th time that Stefan Odenbach is organizing this Workshop.

The 10th German Ferrofluid Workshop is devoted to the most recent development in ferrofluid research. This covers all classical areas of ferrofluid research as physico-chemistry, microstructure, numerical simulations, ferrohydrodynamics, heat and mass transfer, engineering and biomedical applications etc. Moreover, magnetorheological fluids and composites are traditionally among the topics of the workshop.

The workshop will take place from Sept 29 - Oct 1, 2010, as usual in the beautifully located Benediktbeuern abbey, south of Munich.

Please check out their website at
http://www.mfd.mw.tu-dresden.de/ffworkshop/
and register for another wonderful exchange of information.

Core-Shell Magnetic Morphology of Structurally Uniform Magnetite Nanoparticles
May 21, 2010

Experimental findings confirm a theoretical prediction that certain chemically uniform nanoparticles have magnetically distinct cores and shells.

Using refined neutron-scattering techniques, Kathryn Krycka of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Sara Majetich at Carnegie Mellon University and others probed the three-dimensional magnetic structure of magnetite nanoparticles nine nanometres wide. In the presence of an external magnetic field, they found a shell layer 1.0–1.5 nanometres thick in which magnetization was angled at 90° to the particle’s core.

Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 207203 (2010)

The findings indicate that nanoparticles cannot be assumed to have uniform magnetic moments. That these findings are rather weird is even better described by this comment from NIST itself: http://www.nist.gov/ncnr/magnetite_052510.cfm

Biomedical Nanomagnetics:
Kannan Krishnan's Review Now Published
June 19, 2010

Do you remember the excellent tutorial that Kannan Krishnan gave at our 8th Magnetic Carrier Meeting in Rostock? And now the paper that goes with it is available.

Kannan describes in there that biomedical nanomagnetics is a multidisciplinary area of research in science, engineering and medicine with broad applications in
imaging, diagnostics and therapy. Recent developments offer exciting possibilities in personalized medicine provided a truly integrated approach, combining chemistry, materials science, physics, engineering, biology and medicine, is implemented. Emphasizing this perspective, Kannan addresses important issues for the rapid development of the field, i.e., magnetic behavior at the nanoscale with emphasis on the relaxation dynamics, synthesis and surface functionalization of nanoparticles and core-shell structures, biocompatibility and toxicity studies, biological constraints and opportunities, and in vivo and in vitro applications.

Krishnan KM (2010). IEEE Trans Magn 46, 2523-2557.

Manhattan Scientifics Touts Breast Cancer Detection Tool
May 3, 2010

Nanotechnology developer Manhattan Scientifics said it is looking for a partner to develop and commercialize a biomagnetic-based imaging system that aims to identify breast cancer three years earlier than mammograms.

The radiation-free system was developed by Edward Flynn, Ph.D; Manhattan Scientifics acquired exclusive rights to the technology in February. It uses magnetic field sensors to measure small magnetic fields emitted by nanoparticles that have been injected into the body and targeted specifically toward cancer cells, the New York City company said.

Manhattan Scientifics believes the biomagnetic imaging technique can identify and image tiny clusters of cancer cells, allowing for cancer detection at a substantially earlier stage than currently possible. The biomagnetic sensor method is also applicable to ovarian, leukemia, prostate, and potentially other cancers, the firm said. For more information, check out their website.

Also, Ed Flynn does not like that the medical industry largely continues to ignore the need to focus on emerging technologies that can be used earlier. These technologies may help avoid the misdiagnosis issues plaguing mammograms and give a DCIS (or other breast cancer) diagnosis with 100% specificity. Check out his commentary about this here.

Pulsed Magnet System for Sale
April 5, 2010

Mike Sabo at Pulse Therapeutics Inc. has a complete two-coil, water cooled pulsed resistive magnet system for sale. They used it to to explore magnetic catheter navigation and magnetic particle delivery modalities. If you are interested in acquiring this system, please check out the details here.

Magnets 'can modify your morality'
April 1, 2010

Scientists have shown they can change people's moral judgements by disrupting a specific area of the brain with magnetic pulses.

They identified a region of the brain just above and behind the right ear which appears to control morality. And by using magnetic pulses to block cell activity they impaired volunteers' notion of right and wrong. The small Massachusetts Institute of Technology study appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Lead researcher Dr Liane Young said: "You think of morality as being a really high-level behaviour. "To be able to apply a magnetic field to a specific brain region and change people's moral judgments is really astonishing." Read more here.

Are Magnetic Particles used on the German Bob Sleds in the Olympic Games in Vancouver 2010?
February 15, 2010

Pain, a 39-year-old Calgarian who won the silver medal at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, says he and his Canadian teammates are at a distinct disadvantage at the Vancouver Games because he says the Germans are using illegal magnetic components in their sleds.

"I know for a fact they have a magnetic component in their sleds and I do question whether that’s legal or not." What do you think, could they be using ferrofluids in their sleds? Check out more of these rumours here.

Interesting Special Issue
February 14, 2010

It is not the newest issue of the "Journal of Materials Chemistry" that I found here, but there are quite a few interesting articles in it that concern magnetic particles. Check out this special issue edited by Jinwoo Cheon from Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea. You can access the table of contents here.

The cover page to the left here highlights that proteins serve to both passivate iron oxide nanoparticles and modulate their cellular uptake. The picture was designed by Vincent Rotello (J Mater Chem 19 (2009) 6328).

The Next Great Magnet
February 3, 2010

All of us know that NdFeB magnets are the strongest permanent magnets. However, why that is and what is important in magnet development, most of us are not that sure. Peter Campbell, however, does know, and has written a nice article about it. Check it out here.

A Twist on Tumour Targeting
December 25, 2009

A new way of killing cancer cells with magnetic microdiscs has been described by Drs. Elena Rozhkova and Valentyn Novosad in a forthcoming Nature Materials article. Magnetic spin-vortex discs (shown in green) are coated with antibodies (shown in blue) that bind to membrane receptors expressed by the cancer cells. The application of an alternating magnetic field spins the discs, disrupting the cell membrane and initiating apoptosis (programmed cell death) by means of cell-signalling cascades.

For more information, check out their Nature Materials article which even made the cover page; as well as Jon Dobson's comments about this excellent paper.

Magnetic Fluid / Nanoparticle Hyperthermia Testing System
December 17, 2009

Whilst availability of magnetic nanoparticles, and their use, is significantly increasing, until now there has been no commercially available system to enable hyperthermia testing of these particles in specific applications at a range of relevant frequencies and field strengths.

nanoTherics has now made available for purchase the magneTherm AC system, a unique device enabling magnetic fluid / nanoparticle hyperthermia testing at a range of user-configurable frequencies from 70 kHz up to 1,000 kHz, the optimum range for in vivo applications. Since the heating capacity of magnetic nanoparticles will vary, depending on size, shape and material properties, it is critical to be able to evaluate heating capacity over this range of frequencies.

For more information, check out nanoTherics' website.

MagForce Nanotechnologies Reaches Primary Study Endpoint in Pivotal Glioblastoma Hyperthermia Study
November 22, 2009

Berlin - MagForce Nanotechnologies AG has successfully completed its single-arm clinical trial on the efficacy of thermotherapy using superparamagnetic nanoparticles in patients with recurrent glioblastoma. The primary study endpoint, which was to extend the median survival time following tumor recurrence by three months compared to a historical control group, was significantly exceeded in the actual results. The 59 patients evaluated to determine the clinical efficacy of treatment with Nano-Cancer® therapy with accompanying radiotherapy attained a median survival time following diagnosis of the first tumor recurrence of 13.4 months* (99% confidence interval: 9.7-17.1 months). Compared to the 6.2-month median survival time* following recurrence observed in a recently published EORTC study with a total of 573 patients**, the survival time with Nano-Cancer® therapy is statistically highly significant longer (p-value < 0.01).

The results of the clinical trial will now form the basis for the conformity assessment procedure required under the German Medical Devices Act (Medizinproduktegesetz). The product file should be submitted as planned by year end to “MEDCERT Zertifizierungs- und Prüfungsgesellschaft für die Medizin GmbH”, a notified body for the certification of medical devices. Following successful completion of the conformity assessment procedure for Nano-Cancer® therapy and EC type testing of the magnetic field applicator, MagForce will be able to market its Nano-Cancer® therapy throughout the European Union.

* Determined with the Kaplan-Meier method
** Stupp et al., Lancet Oncol 2009; 10:459-66

To find out more, check here.

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