Project Details
Projekt
Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) of particle dynamics in complex matrix systems
Applicant
Dr.-Ing. Thilo Viereck
Subject Area
Statistical Physics, Nonlinear Dynamics, Complex Systems, Soft and Fluid Matter, Biological Physics
Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
Term
from 2018 to 2020
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 392182392
Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) is a new imaging modality for medical diagnosis, which provides the spatially resolved macroscopic concentration distribution of a magnetic nanoparticle tracer. Magnetic Particle Spectroscopy (MPS) is used as an integral method to validate magnetic nanoparticles for imaging applications. However, MPS also provides a spectral characterization method for the dynamic magnetization behavior of the tracer and therefore complements existing/established techniques, such as magnetic relaxometry (MRX) or ac susceptometry (ACS). While these methods operate in the linear range of the magnetization curve, MPS applies large ac magnetic fields to obtain a higher harmonics response, which carries characteristic details on the MNP sample and its state. This includes particle-particle as well as particle-matrix interactions. To extract the physical parameters from the MPS data, we investigate different particle systems in viscous and viscoelastic matrices. Especially, for the characterization of particles in thermo-responsive gels, we developed a new MPS system to enable temperature-dependent measurements. The work is complemented with numerical magnetization models to study non-linear effects of interactions on the MPS spectra.The project is focused on the quantification of the Brownian particle mobility and the evaluation of interactions of the particles with biological tissue. MPS provides a sensitive tool for systematic studies of particle-matrix interactions in complex media and it prepares for MPI application of the method. In MPI, the altered relaxation behavior of the particles under the influence of cell or tissue interactions enables a simultaneous quantification of concentration and a spatially resolved discrimination of particle mobilities.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
