Study reveals promising technology for sepsis treatment using functional magnetic nanoclusters

A research team has introduced new technology capable of eliminating inflammation triggers present in extracorporeal blood. The team, led by Professors Joo Hun Kang and Jinmyoung Joo of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UNIST, in collaboration with Professor Jae Hyuk Lee of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, anticipates that this innovation will open avenues for the treatment of sepsis by demonstrating excellent therapeutic effects. in conditions similar to those of real patients.

In their study, published in Small methodsthe team presented a clinically applicable magnetic extracorporeal blood cleaning device using magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) wrapped by red blood cell-derived nanovesicles (RBC-MNVs).

Using superparamagnetic nanoclusters (SPNCs), the new method is able to quickly and efficiently remove pathogenic and pathogen-related substances that cause sepsis. Their preclinical experiment results also validated the clinical utility of their SPNC-based blood cleansing method by treating lethally infected bacteremic model pigs that exhibit physiological characteristics similar to humans.

“Our study highlights the significant reduction of pathogens in the blood and major organs, as well as the improvement of hemodynamic and hematological parameters, followed by the preservation and restoration of major organ functions,” noted Professor Kang.

“In addition, it was possible to effectively eliminate a wide range of pathogens and inflammatory agents in the blood and major organs without prior diagnosis, leading to a revolutionary therapeutic effect.”

Sepsis is an abnormal systemic inflammatory response to infection, which causes the immune system to attack tissues and leads to inflammation and potential organ damage. However, there is currently no effective pharmacological treatment for sepsis.

In a previous study conducted in 2022, Professor Kang and his research team developed a similar technology using scavenger MNPs enveloped by blood cell-derived nanovesicles (MNVs), which magnetically eradicate an extreme range of pathogens in a circuit extracorporeal.

However, the technology developed in the previous study had technical limitations in clinical practice, making it difficult to purify several liters of extracorporeal blood due to low magnetization rate. The technology has also shown technical limitations in real-world clinical practice. It was difficult to clean several liters of extracorporeal blood samples because of their low magnetic susceptibility, a force attracted to an external magnetic field.

The team performed theoretical calculations to determine the size and distribution of MNPs needed to purify the blood of adult patients in one hour and identified the optimal values. By developing a new hydrothermal synthesis method, they were able to synthesize SPNCs with improved magnetization rate and particle uniformity.

They further validated the clinical utility of their SPNC-based blood cleansing method by treating lethally infected bacteremic model pigs. It was also confirmed that their extracorporeal device can rapidly capture and magnetically separate a wide range of pathogens at high blood flow rates (>6 L h⁻¹) in a porcine sepsis model.

“The newly developed technology to synthesize superparamagnetic nanoparticles will also provide advantages in safety evaluations by minimizing side effects, ensuring that no magnetic nanoparticles remain in the patient’s blood,” said first author Sung Jin Park, the researcher Suhyun Kim and In Won Park.

“We plan to certify and implement medical devices so that this technology can be used in the medical field,” said Professor Kang. “By developing a new concept of infectious disease treatment technology that can be used as a health security strategy to respond to outbreaks of new and mutated infectious diseases, we aim to eliminate various types of pathogens without prior diagnosis.”