Search

Magnetic nanowires (MNWs) can have their moments reversed via several mechanisms that are controlled using the composition, length, diameter, and density of nanowires in arrays as-synthesized or as individual nanoparticles in assays or gels. This tailoring of magnetic reversal leads to unique properties that can be used as a signature for reading out the type of MNW for applications as nano-barcodes. When synthesized inside track-etched polycarbonate membranes, the resulting MNW-embedded membranes can be used as biocompatible bandaids for detection without contact or optical sighting. When etched out of the growth template, free-floating MNWs are internalized by cells at 37 °C such that cells and/or exosomes can be collected and detected. In applications of cryopreservation, MNWs can be suspended in cryopreservation agents (CPAs) for injection into the blood vessels of tissues and organs as they are vitrified to -200 °C. Using an alternating magnetic field, the MNWs can then be nanowarmed rapidly to prevent crystallization and uniformly to prevent cracking of specimens, for example, as grafts or transplants. This invited paper is a review of recent progress in the specific bioapplications of MNWs to barcodes, biocomposites, and nanowarmers.

Spin-orbit torque (SOT) is an emerging technology that enables the efficient manipulation of spintronic devices. The initial processes of interest in SOTs involved electric fields, spin-orbit coupling, conduction electron spins and magnetization. More recently interest has grown to include a variety of other processes that include phonons, magnons, or heat. Over the past decade, many materials have been explored to achieve a larger SOT efficiency. Recently, holistic design to maximize the performance of SOT devices has extended material research from a nonmagnetic layer to a magnetic layer. The rapid development of SOT has spurred a variety of SOT-based applications. In this Roadmap paper, we first review the theories of SOTs by introducing the various mechanisms thought to generate or control SOTs, such as the spin Hall effect, the Rashba-Edelstein effect, the orbital Hall effect, thermal gradients, magnons, and strain effects. Then, we discuss the materials that enable these effects, including metals, metallic alloys, topological insulators, two-dimensional materials, and complex oxides. We also discuss the important roles in SOT devices of different types of magnetic layers, such as magnetic insulators, antiferromagnets, and ferrimagnets. Afterward, we discuss device applications utilizing SOTs. We discuss and compare three-terminal and two-terminal SOT-magnetoresistive random-access memories (MRAMs); we mention various schemes to eliminate the need for an external field. We provide technological application considerations for SOT-MRAM and give perspectives on SOT-based neuromorphic devices and circuits. In addition to SOT-MRAM, we present SOT-based spintronic terahertz generators, nano-oscillators, and domain wall and skyrmion racetrack memories. This paper aims to achieve a comprehensive review of SOT theory, materials, and applications, guiding future SOT development in both the academic and industrial sectors.

The present paper designs, constructs, and tests an electrically small dipole antenna probe for the measurement of electric field distributions with the ultimate purpose to directly measure electric fields induced by a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) coil. Its unique features include applicability to measurements in both air and conducting medium, high spatial resolution, large frequency band from 100 Hz to 300 KHz, efficient feedline isolation via a printed Dyson balun, and accurate mitigation of noise. Prior work in this area is thoroughly reviewed. The proposed probe design is realized in hardware; implementation details and design tradeoffs are described. Test data are presented for the measurement of a constant wave capacitor electric field, demonstrating the probe's ability to properly measure electric fields caused by a charge distribution. Test data are also presented for the measurement of a constant wave solenoidal electric field, demonstrating the probe's ability to measure electric fields caused by Faraday's law of induction. Those are the primary fields for the transcranial magnetic stimulation. Further steps necessary for the application of this probe as an instrument for TMS coil design are discussed.

Electromagnetic (EM) field simulation plays a key role in the design of magnetic resonance imaging radio frequency (RF) coils. However, the values of the components in tuning and matching circuits often need to be iterated repeatedly in the conventional simulation method in order to achieve optimal scattering parameters. This leads to a time-consuming optimization to tune and match RF coils, particularly dual-tuned coils that are comprised of multiple lumped elements. A method combining EM field simulation and circuit simulation was employed in this paper, which can dramatically improve simulation efficiency for the optimization of the values of the lumped elements and corresponding EM field distribution. A systematical theoretical analysis of the co-simulation method was presented. To validate the accuracy and efficiency of the co-simulation method, a comparison study was conducted between the conventional simulation and the proposed co-simulation approaches.

In nowadays Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) signal detection and excitation happens at the same time. This concept, however, leads to strong coupling of the drive (excitation) field (DF) with the receive chain. As the induced DF signal is several orders of magnitude higher, special measures have to be taken to suppress this signal portion within the receive signal to keep the required dynamic range of the subsequent analog to digital conversion in a technically feasible range. For "frequency space MPI" high-order band-stop-filters have been successfully used to remove the DF signals, which unfortunately as well removes the fundamental harmonic components of the signal of the magnetic nanoparticles (MNP). According to the Langevin theory the fundamental harmonic component has a large signal contribution and is important for direct reconstruction of the particle concentration. In order to separate the fundamental harmonic component of the MNP from the induced DF signal, different concepts have been proposed using signal cancelation based on additional DF signals, also in combination with additional filtering. In this paper, we propose a field-cancelation (FC) concept in which a receive coil (RC) consists of a series connection of a primary coil in combination with an additional cancelation coil. The geometry of the primary coil was chosen to be sensitive for the MNP signal while the cancelation coil was chosen to minimize the overall inductive coupling of the FC-RC with the DF. Sensitivity plots and mutual coupling coefficients were calculated using a thin-wire approximation. A prototype FC-RC was manufactured and effectiveness of the reduction of the mutual inductive coupling ( d ) was tested in an existing mouse MPI scanner. The difference between simulations ( d s =70 dB) and the measurements ( d ms =55 dB) indicated the feasibility as well as the need for further investigations.

In this paper, we describe a modified solenoid coil that efficiently generates high amplitude alternating magnetic fields (AMF) having field uniformity (≤10%) within a 125-cm 3 volume of interest. Two-dimensional finite element analysis (2D-FEA) was used to design a coil generating a targeted peak AMF amplitude along the coil axis of ~100 kA/m (peak-to-peak) at a frequency of 150 kHz while maintaining field uniformity to >90% of peak for a specified volume. This field uniformity was realized by forming the turns from cylindrical sections of copper plate and by adding flux concentrating rings to both ends of the coil. Following construction, the field profile along the axes of the coil was measured. An axial peak field value of 95.8 ± 0.4 kA/m was measured with 650 V applied to the coil and was consistent with the calculated results. The region of axial field uniformity, defined as the distance over which field ≥90% of peak, was also consistent with the simulated results. We describe the utility of such a device for calorimetric measurement of nanoparticle heating for cancer therapy and for magnetic fluid hyperthermia in small animal models of human cancer.

Biomedical nanomagnetics is a multidisciplinary area of research in science, engineering and medicine with broad applications in imaging, diagnostics and therapy. Recent developments offer exciting possibilities in personalized medicine provided a truly integrated approach, combining chemistry, materials science, physics, engineering, biology and medicine, is implemented. Emphasizing this perspective, here we address important issues for the rapid development of the field, i.e., magnetic behavior at the nanoscale with emphasis on the relaxation dynamics, synthesis and surface functionalization of nanoparticles and core-shell structures, biocompatibility and toxicity studies, biological constraints and opportunities, and in vivo and in vitro applications. Specifically, we discuss targeted drug delivery and triggered release, novel contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging, cancer therapy using magnetic fluid hyperthermia, in vitro diagnostics and the emerging magnetic particle imaging technique, that is quantitative and sensitive enough to compete with established imaging methods. In addition, the physics of self-assembly, which is fundamental to both biology and the future development of nanoscience, is illustrated with magnetic nanoparticles. It is shown that various competing energies associated with self-assembly converge on the nanometer length scale and different assemblies can be tailored by varying particle size and size distribution. Throughout this paper, while we discuss our recent research in the broad context of the multidisciplinary literature, we hope to bridge the gap between related work in physics/chemistry/engineering and biology/medicine and, at the same time, present the essential concepts in the individual disciplines. This approach is essential as biomedical nanomagnetics moves into the next phase of innovative translational research with emphasis on development of quantitative in vivo imaging, targeted and triggered drug release, and image guided therapy including validation of delivery and therapy response.

This paper focuses on the development of magnetic cellular switches to enable magnetic control of intracellular functions in living mammalian cells, including receptor signal transduction and gene transcription. Our approach takes advantage of the mechanosensitivity of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) induction and downstream transcription controlled by the cAMP regulatory element (CRE) to engineer gene constructs that optically report gene expression in living cells. We activate transcription of these gene reporters by applying magnetic (mechanical) stress to magnetic microbeads bound to cell surface integrin receptors. In these gene reporter constructs, CRE motifs drive the expression of fluorescent proteins or enzymes that produce fluorescent products, such as DsRed and β-lactamase (BLA), respectively. We demonstrate that a chemical inducer of cAMP (forskolin) increases expression of CRE-DsRed in living cells. More importantly, a threefold increase in CRE-BLA expression is induced by application of mechanical stress to magnetic microbeads (4.5 µm) bound to cell surface integrin receptors. Induction of cAMP could be detected within 5 min using a protein fragment complementation assay involving interactions between the KID and KIX domains of the CRE binding protein linked to complementary halves of the BLA enzyme. These studies confirm that application of magnetic stress to integrins induces gene transcription by activating the cAMP-dependent transcription factor CREB. Ongoing studies focus on optimizing sensitivity and reducing signal-to-noise by establishing stable cell lines that express these gene reporters. These studies collectively demonstrate the feasibility of using magnetic technologies to control function in living mammalian cells and, hence, support the possibility of developing magnetically-actuated cellular components for use in future micro- and nanotechnologies.