Fundamental study on cancer therapy by blocking newborn blood vessels with surface modified magnetite particles

Abstract

We propose a novel cancer treatment which involves blocking newborn blood vessels around the diseased part. This treatment has minimal side effects and is less invasive. In the therapy, ferromagnetic particles administered into the body are accumulated in the newborn blood vessels. Next, the particles are aggregated to block the blood vessels to prevent cancer growth and metastasis. In this study, we modified the surface of magnetite particles with biocompatible polyacrylic acid to design particles that form irreversible aggregation on the application of a magnetic field. We succeeded in blocking only the flow path under a uniform magnetic field using the prepared particles, as is verified by the results of a model experiment. We assume that the blockage occurred due to the formation of chain aggregation under the magnetic field and the increase in pressure loss.