Magnetic Nanoparticles as Drug Carriers: Review

Magnetic nanoparticles are made up of magnetic elements such as iron, nickel, cobalt and their oxides. Their unique physical and chemical properties, biocompatibility and their ability to be manipulated by external magnetic fields have made them as popular drug carriers in recent years. They offer various advantages such as ability to carry drugs to the desired areas in the body, and the ability to release the drugs in a controlled manner which in turn help in reducing side effects to other organs and in providing correct dosage of drugs. However, the complexity of the drug delivery system is a challenge in further improving the efficiency of magnetic nanoparticle drug delivery. In order to overcome this challenge, computational tools help in understanding the complexity of the drug delivery process and to design magnetic nanoparticles which are more efficient in drug delivery. In this chapter we propose to review various properties of magnetic nanoparticles, applications of magnetic nanoparticles as drug carriers, challenges in using them for drug delivery, various computational tools which aid in modeling magnetic nanoparticle drug delivery and in designing magnetic nanoparticles for efficient targeted drug delivery.