What if medical doctors may information life-saving remedies by way of 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.
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 Growth of Magnetically Directable Silk Particles” (DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c17536), had been printed within the February version of ACS Utilized Supplies & Interfaces.
Marini and her colleagues had been motivated by their lab’s ongoing work to enhance remedy choices for belly aortic aneurysms (AAA), a situation that may be deadly if left untreated and contributes to just about 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 wish to discover a option to ship extracellular vesicles to the location of an belly aortic aneurysm within the least invasive approach potential. We envisioned that we may inject extracellular vesicles onto a service after which someway information the service to the surface 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 convey 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 appropriate properties and bond them to the silk so they’d keep connected throughout motion. You’ll be able to 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 purposes earlier than, what units this work aside is the chemical bonding of the magnetic particles to silk—a biocompatible materials already authorized by the FDA—utilizing the compound glutathione.
We bridged biomaterials and chemical conjugation to create particles that might be magnetically guided. By chemically bonding iron oxide nanoparticles to the regenerated silk fibroin, we enhanced their magnetic movability so we are able to 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 instant subsequent step will likely be loading these carriers with therapeutic brokers.
Marini mentioned, “With this paper, we’re displaying that we are able to create an empty service that may be magnetically moved. The following step is determining what sort of cargo we are able to load, regenerative components, medication, or different supplies folks wish to magnetically localize. Whether or not it’s delivering most cancers medication with fewer negative effects or slowing down tissue degradation in aneurysms, this expertise has broad potential for regenerative medication.”
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 mentioned, “We try to create a toolbox of remedies, and in supplies science, there’s loads 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 undertaking the place folks with very totally different units of experience got here collectively to unravel an issue and produce an end result that would probably have an immense influence on human lives.”
Journal Reference:
Marini, A. X., et al. (2025) Chemical Conjugation of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for the Growth of Magnetically Directable Silk Particles. ACS Utilized Supplies & Interfaces. doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c17536.
