What if medical doctors might information life-saving remedies via the physique utilizing nothing however a magnet?
An interdisciplinary group on the College of Pittsburgh’s Swanson College of Engineering is working to make that concept a actuality. They’ve developed silk iron microparticles (SIMPs)—tiny, magnetic, biodegradable carriers designed to ship medication and coverings on to particular websites within the physique, resembling aneurysms or tumors.
Scanning electron microscope (SEM) photographs of MPs. Consultant (c) excessive and (d) low magnification photographs depict SIMPs with IONPs conjugated with GSH. Picture Credit score: College of Pittsburgh
The hassle is led by Pitt alumna Ande Marini (BioE PhD ‘25), now a postdoctoral scholar in cardiothoracic surgical procedure at Stanford College, alongside David Vorp, John A. Swanson Professor of Bioengineering, and Justin Weinbaum, analysis assistant professor of bioengineering.
Their findings, titled “Chemical Conjugation of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for the Improvement of Magnetically Directable Silk Particles” (DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c17536), have been printed within the February version of ACS Utilized Supplies & Interfaces.
Marini and her colleagues have been motivated by their lab’s ongoing work to enhance therapy choices for stomach aortic aneurysms (AAA), a situation that may be deadly if left untreated and contributes to almost 10,000 deaths yearly.
Their strategy focuses on noninvasive, early-stage supply of regenerative therapies utilizing extracellular vesicles—small, membrane-bound capsules that assist cells talk.
We need to discover a strategy to ship extracellular vesicles to the location of an stomach aortic aneurysm within the least invasive means doable. We envisioned that we might inject extracellular vesicles onto a provider after which one way or the other information the provider to the skin of the aortic wall, so we got here up with the concept of utilizing magnetic attraction.
David A. Vorp, Division of Bioengineering, College of Pittsburgh
To carry that concept to life, the group partnered with Mostafa Bedewy, affiliate professor of mechanical engineering and supplies science on the Swanson College, and his former Ph.D. scholar, Golnaz Tomaraei (IE PhD ‘23).
Their experience in nanomaterials and fabrication was important in producing the magnetic nanoparticles, every simply one-hundred-thousandth the width of a human hair. At that scale, supplies behave in a different way, taking up properties like magnetic responsiveness.
Our function was to synthesize magnetic nanoparticles with the correct properties and bond them to the silk so they’d keep connected throughout motion. You possibly can consider it like towing cargo we created the particles to hold medication, and the nanoparticles are the tow hook.
Mostafa Bedewy, Division of Mechanical Engineering and Supplies Science, College of Pittsburgh
Whereas magnetically guideable supplies have been utilized in medical functions earlier than, what units this work aside is the chemical bonding of the magnetic particles to silk—a biocompatible materials already accredited by the FDA—utilizing the compound glutathione.
We bridged biomaterials and chemical conjugation to create particles that may very well be magnetically guided. By chemically bonding iron oxide nanoparticles to the regenerated silk fibroin, we enhanced their magnetic movability so we will probably localize them externally to a web site of curiosity within the physique.
Ande X. Marini, Division of Bioengineering, College of Pittsburgh
This breakthrough opens up a spread of future potentialities, from focused most cancers remedies to regenerative therapies for heart problems. The rapid subsequent step can be loading these carriers with therapeutic brokers.
Marini stated, “With this paper, we’re displaying that we will create an empty provider that may be magnetically moved. The following step is determining what sort of cargo we will load, regenerative elements, medication, or different supplies folks need to magnetically localize. Whether or not it’s delivering most cancers medication with fewer unwanted effects or slowing down tissue degradation in aneurysms, this know-how has broad potential for regenerative drugs.”
For Bedewy’s group, this additionally means persevering with to refine the molecular construction of the particles and optimizing how they launch their cargo over time.
Bedewy stated, “We are attempting to create a toolbox of remedies, and in supplies science, there may be a variety of room for making extra instruments that may be helpful for medical medical doctors and bioengineers to assist create alternative ways of resolving issues within the physique. That is an thrilling challenge the place folks with very completely different units of experience got here collectively to unravel an issue and produce an consequence that might probably have an immense influence on human lives.”
Journal Reference:
Marini, A. X., et al. (2025) Chemical Conjugation of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for the Improvement of Magnetically Directable Silk Particles. ACS Utilized Supplies & Interfaces. doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c17536.
