COVID-19 treatment using magnetic hyperthermia
Although it is not widely available, magnetic hyperthermia is a good approach to be used in elevating the tissue temperature, especially in cancer treatment (Giustini et al., 2010). Magnetic nanoparticles (MNP's) can be manipulated by applying a magnetic field. When applying a vibrational magnetic field, the MNP's vibrate producing heat (Giustini et al., 2010).
In a study by Chen et al., (2017) and using influenza virus as a study model, magnetic nanoparticles (MNP's) were used to target and isolate virus particles. Schematic illustration of erythrocyte membrane cloaked magnetic nanoparticles (RBC-mNPs) for influenza virus isolation can be shown in the attached file.
On the other hand, a study by Chin et al., (2020) showed that incubating SARS-COV-2 virus at high temperature caused virus inactivation. So, magnetic hyperthermia could be used as a treatment tool for COVID-19 pandemic.
Firstly, MNP's can be injected into the body to target and isolate the virus. Secondly, a strong magnetic field can be applied making the MNP's to vibrate and produce heat. Finally, the heat which would be localized in the virus particles could inactivate them.
Attachment: infleunza_virus_isolation.jpg (75.6 KB)
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