Magnetic drug delivery

Presently, several targeted treatment systems including magnetic field, electric field, ultrasound, temperature, UV light and mechanical force are being used in many disease treatments (e.g. cancer, nerve damage, heart and artery, anti-diabetic, eye and other medical treatments). Among them, the magnetic targeted drug delivery system is one of the most attractive and promising strategy for delivering the drug to the specified site. The targeted systems improve therapeutic index of drug molecules by minimizing the toxic side effects on healthy cells and tissues. The use of magnetic carriers for drug delivery of chemotherapeutic agents has evolved since 1970s, when little research has developed albumin microspheres encasing the chemotherapeutic agent Adriamycin, and using magnetite as the magnetically susceptible component.