Magnetic field strength requirements to capture superparamagnetic nanoparticles within capillary flow

This article reports the development of a model, with supporting experimental data, which can predict the magnitude of the magnetic flux required to capture superparamagnetic nanoparticles flowing through a plastic capillary micro array. The model takes into account the shape of the magnetic field, the magnetically induced aggregation of the nanoparticles and a criterion to determine whether nanoparticles are held at the capillary wall or not. It was found that the model gave a semi-quantitative match to experimental data showing that, once steered out of the core of the fluid flow, nanoparticles could be held at a capillary wall within a weaker region of magnetic field. This result may have implications for the design of magnets for use in magnetic directed therapy in addition to having implications concerning the design of nanoparticle dosage regimes.