(619e) Biodegradable Magnetite Stent for Implant-Assisted Magnetic Drug Targeting

A biodegradable magnetic nanocomposite stent was developed as the implant for implant assisted-magnetic drug targeting (IA-MDT). The composite consisted of a poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic) acid copolymer with dispersed iron oxide nanopowder as the magnetic component. Polymer composites with various iron oxide loadings were melt extruded into fibers and coiled to simulate a ferromagnetic stent implant. An in vitro setup was used to study the capability of this implant to capture 100 nm magnetite particles as simulated magnetic drug carrier particles (MDCPs) under physiological flow conditions.

Degradation and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis were conducted on the fiber samples to characterize the effect of the iron oxide on the polymer composites properties. The addition of iron oxide was found to increase the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polymer fiber. It also increases the mechanical properties of the fiber composite. Increasing the iron oxide loading in the polymer composite lead to an increase in the capture of the MDCPs. In contrast, reducing the concentration of the MDCPs in suspension and increasing the fluid velocity both had negative impacts on the capture efficiency of the MDCPs. An overview of these findings will be given during this presenatation.