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In Vitro 3D Cell-Cultured Arterial Models for Studying Vascular Drug Targeting Under Flow
Published on: March 14, 2021
Shaping nano-/micro-particles for enhanced vascular interaction in laminar flows
Sei-Young Lee1, Mauro Ferrari, Paolo Decuzzi
1Department of Nanomedicine and Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
Nanotechnology
|November 12, 2009
Summary
Non-spherical particles naturally drift sideways in fluid flow due to hydrodynamic forces. This behavior, called hydrodynamic margination, is key for designing drug delivery systems and advanced particle separation technologies.
Area of Science:
- Fluid Dynamics
- Biophysics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Non-spherical nanoparticles and microparticles exhibit lateral drift (hydrodynamic margination) in linear laminar flow.
- This phenomenon arises from the interplay of hydrodynamic and inertial forces.
- Margination has potential applications in intravascular/pulmonary drug delivery and high-throughput particle separation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a general approach for predicting the margination behavior of non-spherical particles.
- To analyze the factors influencing lateral drift velocity.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis of particle dynamics in laminar flow.
- Investigation of particle properties like size, density, and rotational inertia.
- Examination of margination in different biological circulations (blood and pulmonary).
Main Results:
- Lateral drift velocity is dependent on the particle's Stokes number (St(a)).
- Velocity increases with particle size, density, and rotational inertia.
- Elongated and discoidal particles show the highest margination propensity.
- Margination occurs in blood microcirculation at higher shear rates (100-10(4) s(-1)) and in pulmonary circulation even for sub-micrometer particles.
Conclusions:
- Hydrodynamic margination is a predictable phenomenon exploitable for technological applications.
- Non-spherical particle margination can be utilized in microfluidic devices for label-free particle separation.
- This offers a pathway for designing advanced flow-fractioning systems without external force fields.
