What if docs may information life-saving remedies by the physique utilizing nothing however a magnet?
An interdisciplinary crew on the College of Pittsburgh’s Swanson Faculty of Engineering is working to make that concept a actuality. They’ve developed silk iron microparticles (SIMPs)—tiny, magnetic, biodegradable carriers designed to ship medicine and coverings on to particular websites within the physique, similar to aneurysms or tumors.
The trouble 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 Improvement of Magnetically Directable Silk Particles” (DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c17536), have been revealed within the February version of ACS Utilized Supplies & Interfaces.
Marini and her colleagues have 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 almost 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 solution to ship extracellular vesicles to the positioning of an belly aortic aneurysm within the least invasive method attainable. We envisioned that we may inject extracellular vesicles onto a service after which by some means information the service to the skin of the aortic wall, so we got here up with the thought of utilizing magnetic attraction.
David A. Vorp, Division of Bioengineering, College of Pittsburgh
To carry that concept to life, the crew partnered with Mostafa Bedewy, affiliate professor of mechanical engineering and supplies science on the Swanson Faculty, and his former Ph.D. pupil, 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 over properties like magnetic responsiveness.
Our function was to synthesize magnetic nanoparticles with the suitable properties and bond them to the silk so they’d keep connected throughout motion. You possibly can consider it like towing cargo we created the particles to hold medicine, 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 doubtlessly 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 variety of future potentialities, from focused most cancers remedies to regenerative therapies for heart problems. The fast subsequent step shall be loading these carriers with therapeutic brokers.
Marini stated, “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, medicine, or different supplies folks wish to magnetically localize. Whether or not it’s delivering most cancers medicine with fewer negative effects or slowing down tissue degradation in aneurysms, this expertise has broad potential for regenerative drugs.”
For Bedewy’s crew, this additionally means persevering with to refine the molecular construction of the particles and optimizing how they launch their cargo over time.
Bedewy stated, “We try to create a toolbox of remedies, and in supplies science, there may be a number of room for making extra instruments that may be helpful for medical docs and bioengineers to assist create other ways of resolving issues within the physique. That is an thrilling mission the place folks with very totally different units of experience got here collectively to unravel an issue and produce an end result that would doubtlessly have an immense influence on human lives.”
Journal Reference:
Marini, A. X., et al. (2025) Chemical Conjugation of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for the Improvement of Magnetically Directable Silk Particles. ACS Utilized Supplies & Interfaces. doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c17536.