Magnetothermal Multiplexing for Selective Remote Control of Cell Signaling

Abstract

Magnetic nanoparticles have garnered sustained research interest for their promise in biomedical applications including diagnostic imaging, triggered drug release, cancer hyperthermia, and neural stimulation. Many of these applications make use of heat dissipation by ferrite nanoparticles under alternating magnetic fields, with these fields acting as an externally administered stimulus that is either present or absent, toggling heat dissipation on and off. Here, we motivate and demonstrate an extension of this concept, magnetothermal multiplexing, in which exposure to alternating magnetic fields of differing amplitude and frequency can result in selective and independent heating of magnetic nanoparticle ensembles. The differing magnetic coercivity of these particles, empirically characterized by a custom high amplitude alternating current magnetometer, informs the systematic selection of a multiplexed material system. This work culminates in a demonstration of magnetothermal multiplexing for selective remote control of cellular signaling <i>in vitro</i>.