Derivation and Numerical Simulation of a Thermodynamically Consistent Magneto Two-Phase Flow Model for Magnetic Drug Targeting

Abstract: In this paper, we derive a novel and comprehensive thermodynamically consistent model for the complex interactions between superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), a carrier fluid, and a magnetic field, as they occur in Magnetic Drug Targeting (MDT), the targeted delivery of magnetically functionalized drug carriers by external magnetic fields. It consists of a convection-diffusion equation for SPIONs, a modified Navier-Stokes system for the averaged velocity of the carrier fluid-nanoparticle mixture and a quasi-stationary Maxwell system for the magnetic variables. The derived model extends previous models for MDT by taking into account the response of the carrier fluid and of the magnetic field to the dynamics of the SPIONs, and thus provides a comprehensive tool for the prediction and optimization of MDT processes. After introducing a semi-implicit finite element scheme for the numerical simulation of the model, simulation results for the fully coupled model are performed and compared with results from a reduced version of the model, where the response of the carrier flow and of the magnetic field to the SPION dynamics is neglected. Furthermore, the sensitivity of MDT with respect to experimental parameters, such as magnet positioning, is investigated.