Scientists at Rice University have developed a method to open gaps between the endothelial cells that line blood vessels using a magnetic field and iron oxide nanoparticles. The gaps close by themselves after the researchers remove the magnets. They hope that the concept could be used to help deliver larger therapeutic molecules like proteins to specific sites in the body.
Our blood vessels are lined with endothelial cells. These cells have very tight junctions between them to stop blood leaking out. Many drugs are delivered through our bloodstream and travel to the tissues they are intended to treat. “For many diseases, systemic delivery through the blood stream is the only way to deliver molecules to the site,” said bioengineer Gang Bao, who is a senior author on the study, which was recently published in Nature Communications. “Small molecules can penetrate the blood vessel and get into the diseased tissue, but large molecules like proteins or drug-loaded nanoparticles cannot pass the endothelium effectively unless it is leaky.”
The researchers created a microfluidic system lined with endothelial cells that had been infused with iron oxide nanoparticles. When a magnetic field was applied the cells moved apart, and some of the filaments inside the cell that give it its shape lined up with the magnetic force. Most gaps between the cells went away about 12 hours after the researchers took the magnets away. If the researchers can produce targeted and reversible leakiness in blood vessels in the body it could significantly enhance drug treatment using proteins or nanoparticles.
Study in Nature Communications: Magnetic forces enable controlled drug delivery by disrupting endothelial cell-cell junctions…
Via: Rice University…