Margination of micro- and nano-particles in blood flow and its effect on drug delivery.
Drug delivery by micro- and nano-carriers enables controlled transport of pharmaceuticals to targeted sites. Even though carrier fabrication has made much progress recently, the delivery including controlled particle distribution and adhesion within the body remains a great challenge. The adhesion of carriers is strongly affected by their margination properties (migration toward walls) in the microvasculature. To investigate margination characteristics of carriers of different shapes and sizes and to elucidate the relevant physical mechanisms, we employ mesoscopic hydrodynamic simulations of blood flow. Particle margination is studied for a wide range of hematocrit values, vessel sizes, and flow rates, using two- and three-dimensional models. The simulations show that the margination properties of particles improve with increasing carrier size. Spherical particles yield slightly better margination than ellipsoidal carriers; however, ellipsoidal particles exhibit a slower rotational dynamics near a wall favoring their adhesion. In conclusion, micron-sized ellipsoidal particles are favorable for drug delivery in comparison with sub-micron spherical particles.
Theoretical Soft Matter and Biophysics, Institute of Complex Systems and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
Kathrin
K
Müller
Theoretical Soft Matter and Biophysics, Institute of Complex Systems and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
Dmitry A
DA
Fedosov
Theoretical Soft Matter and Biophysics, Institute of Complex Systems and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
Gerhard
G
Gompper
D000465:Algorithms; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004337:Drug Carriers; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000502:physiology; D006439:Hemodynamics; D018056:Hemorheology; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D053758:Nanoparticles; D010316:Particle Size
D004337:Drug Carriers