Mathematical Modeling of Nanoparticle Distribution in Mice
Date
2010-05
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Nanomedicine refers to the application of nanotechnology to medicine and includes such applications as targeted drug delivery, cell repair, and new anti-microbial, therapy, and imaging techniques. Clinical trials involving nanoparticles present unique challenges related to risk minimization, management, and communication in research. A novel deterministic model has been developed to map the concentration profiles of gold nanoparticles in the blood, kidney, liver, and muscles of mice. It was found that this nanoparticle model captures the behavior of gold nanoparticles in the kidney and liver of mice very accurately; it is less capable of modeling this behavior in the blood compartment and, especially, in the muscle compartment. The model responds as intuitively expected when the blood flow rates to the organs and the clearance rate from the liver are adjusted. While newly developed, this nanoparticle model draws heavily on the physiology-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model developed by Bischoff to model the concentration profiles of the oncology drug methotrexate in the organs of various mammalian species, including humans. Further validation of the nanoparticle model would allow for it to be used in the planning and execution of clinical trials involving nanoparticles, which would help to mitigate many of the concerns associated with this new science.