Biocompatibility of candidate materials for the realization of medical microdevices

Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2006:2006:2362-5. doi: 10.1109/IEMBS.2006.259301.

Abstract

The propulsion of ferromagnetic micro-carriers in the blood vessels by magnetic gradients generated from a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system is of special interest for targeted interventions such as chemotherapy or chemo-embolization. As such, Fe-Co alloys for its highest magnetization saturation, and single crystal Ni-Mn-Ga powder and Terfenol-D for their deformation in magnetic field are evaluated for their biocompatibility. The toxicity of these materials is evaluated with MTT cell viability tests. The tests show that Fe-Co (Permendur and Vacoflux 17) alloys are toxic within 24 hours while the single crystal Ni-Mn-Ga powder becomes toxic after 48 hours. The Terfenol-D, despite its high degradation, has 90% cell viability after 72 hours. These results indicate that such candidate materials to be considered in untethered micro-carriers or devices in the blood vessels would require, depending upon the time spent in the blood vessels, further processes to be viable for such applications.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alloys / adverse effects*
  • Animals
  • Biocompatible Materials / adverse effects*
  • Cell Survival / drug effects*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Fibroblasts / cytology
  • Fibroblasts / drug effects*
  • Materials Testing
  • Mice
  • Miniaturization
  • Prostheses and Implants*

Substances

  • Alloys
  • Biocompatible Materials