Magnetic particles in motion: magneto-motive imaging and sensing

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Kelsey P Kubelick, Emory University; Mohammad Mehrmohammadi, Wayne State University
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-01-24
• Publisher: Ivyspring International Publisher
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The author(s)
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.7150/thno.54056
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Theranostics
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: 1783
• End Page: 1799
• Keywords: diagnostics; magneto-motive contrast; biomedical imaging; elastography; Magnetic nanoparticles
• Research Categories: Engineering, Biomedical; Engineering, Electronics and Electrical; Computer Science

Abstract

Superparamagnetic nanoparticles have become an important tool in biomedicine. Their biocompatibility, controllable small size, and magnetic properties allow manipulation with an external magnetic field for a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Recently, the magnetically-induced motion of superparamagnetic nanoparticles has been investigated as a new source of imaging contrast. In magneto-motive imaging, an external, time-varying magnetic field is applied to move a magnetically labeled subject, such as labeled cells or tissue. Several major imaging modalities such as ultrasound, photoacoustic imaging, optical coherence tomography, and laser speckle tracking can utilize magneto-motive contrast to monitor biological events at smaller scales with enhanced contrast and sensitivity. In this review article, an overview of magneto-motive imaging techniques is presented, including synthesis of superparamagnetic nanoparticles, fundamental principles of magneto-motive force and its utility to excite labeled tissue within a viscoelastic medium, current capabilities of magneto-motive imaging modalities, and a discussion of the challenges and future outlook in the magneto-motive imaging domain.