Project Abstract:

While newer and more powerful drugs are continuously developed, increasing interests are being attracted to the methods by which therapeutic agents can be efficiently delivered to targeting organs and cells. In conventional drug delivery, the drug concentration in the blood rises when the drug is taken, then peaks and declines. Since each drug has a plasma level above which it is toxic and below which it is ineffective, the plasma drug concentration in a patient at a particular time depends on compliance with the prescribed routine. Potential advantages of targeted drug delivery using magnetic carrier are: (a) magnetic carrier can deliver the agents to the target cells in a short period with the aid of a external magnetic field; (b) the delivered drug can be retained at the target area, therefore, the negative side effects of the administrated drug are expected to be greatly reduced; (c) drug quantity required to achieve a therapeutic effect may be greatly reduced; (d) the drug release rates can be controlled on demand by application of an oscillating magnetic field at prescribed intervals. This work focuses on the synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles, and subsequent surface functionalization and drug loading.