Magnetophoretic circuits for digital control of single particles and cells.

The ability to manipulate small fluid droplets, colloidal particles and single cells with the precision and parallelization of modern-day computer hardware has profound applications for biochemical detection, gene sequencing, chemical synthesis and highly parallel analysis of single cells. Drawing inspiration from general circuit theory and magnetic bubble technology, here we demonstrate a class of integrated circuits for executing sequential and parallel, timed operations on an ensemble of single particles and cells. The integrated circuits are constructed from lithographically defined, overlaid patterns of magnetic film and current lines. The magnetic patterns passively control particles similar to electrical conductors, diodes and capacitors. The current lines actively switch particles between different tracks similar to gated electrical transistors. When combined into arrays and driven by a rotating magnetic field clock, these integrated circuits have general multiplexing properties and enable the precise control of magnetizable objects

Directing cell therapy to anatomic target sites in vivo with magnetic resonance targeting

Cell-based therapy exploits modified human cells to treat diseases but its targeted application in specific tissues, particularly those lying deep in the body where direct injection is not possible, has been problematic. Here we use a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system to direct macrophages carrying an oncolytic virus, Seprehvir, into primary and metastatic tumour sites in mice. To achieve this, we magnetically label macrophages with super-paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and apply pulsed magnetic field gradients in the direction of the tumour sites. Magnetic resonance targeting guides macrophages from the bloodstream into tumours, resulting in increased tumour macrophage infiltration and reduction in tumour burden and metastasis. Our study indicates that clinical MRI scanners can not only track the location of magnetically labelled cells but also have the potential to steer them into one or more target tissues

Magnetically tunable self-assembly of colloidal rings

We present a technique using ferrofluid to induce bidisperse suspensions of superparamagnetic and diamagnetic beads to assemble into colloidal ring configurations. The separation distance between particles within the ring can be tuned by adjusting the ferrofluid concentration, which has the effect of enhancing the effective dipole moment of one of the components while screening the dipole moment of the other, leading to a wealth of different ring configurations. © 2010 American Institute of Physics

Beyond diffusion-limited aggregation kinetics in microparticle suspensions

Aggregation in nondiffusion limited colloidal particle suspensions follows a temporal power-law dependence that is consistent with classical diffusion limited cluster aggregation models; however, the dynamic scaling exponents observed in these systems are not adequately described by diffusion limited cluster aggregation models, which expect these scaling exponents to be constant over all experimental conditions. We show here that the dynamic scaling exponents for 10 μm particles increase with the particle concentration and the particle-particle free energy of interaction. We provide a semiquantitative explanation for the scaling behavior in terms of the long-ranged particle-particle interaction potential