Modelling Transport Phenomena of Nanoparticles in Drug Delivery Therapy

100纳米以下的小颗粒正在带来革命性的技术变革。一纳米是一米的十亿分之一，大约是人类头发厚度的十万分之一。这种被称为纳米粒子的粒子正在能源、环境工程和药物治疗等许多领域得到应用。正是在后者中，本研究找到了其动机和主要预期应用之一。据悉，化学疗法和放射疗法等现有的癌症治疗方法在消灭癌细胞的过程中会损害健康细胞，因此不具有特异性，因此会产生副作用。基于纳米颗粒的新技术正在开发中，注射的纳米颗粒一旦到达肿瘤，就会穿过血液执行治疗任务。任务可能是输送治疗药物或释放热量。后一种技术被称为热疗法，它利用了癌细胞比健康细胞对热更敏感的事实。工程纳米颗粒也同样被用于执行降解或转化污染物的任务，以用于水或土壤的修复。不管应用如何，这些技术的成功取决于纳米粒子到达目的地时如何移动和分布。由于许多因素，目前对纳米颗粒命运的控制有限，因此了解这些因素对颗粒旅程的影响及其效率至关重要。在许多已知的因素中，颗粒大小已被确定为最重要的因素之一。现有的相关研究假设所有的颗粒都具有相同的大小。此外，这些研究没有考虑到一些机制，包括特殊的热效应，例如在热疗法中遇到的。因此，我们目前还不知道这些方面实际上是如何影响粒子的运输和分布的。本研究将密切关注这些方面及其对颗粒旅程的影响，通过考虑具有广泛尺寸范围的颗粒并通过考虑传热的作用。该分析将检查纳米颗粒在小管道或血管等几何结构中的流动，它们与其他颗粒和管壁的相互作用，以及它们在多孔结构（如肿瘤）中的渗透和分布。为了实现这一目标，将开发物理模型来捕捉粒子旅程中的主要动力学。模型方程将使用基于新开发的数值算法的先进模拟技术来求解。这项研究将有助于开发新的设计和技术，以实现最佳和有效的纳米颗粒输送，主要应用于药物输送，也应用于土壤净化和石油开采。这将为加拿大人的健康和福祉带来好处，并增加社会和经济价值。

Small particles of size less than 100 nanometer are bringing revolutionary technological changes. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter or about a hundred-thousandth the thickness of a human hair. Such particles referred to as nanoparticles, are finding applications in many fields such as energy, environmental engineering and drug therapy. It is in the latter that this research finds its motivation and one of its main intended applications. Existing cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation are known to induce negative side effects due to their non-specificity where healthy cells are damaged in the process of destroying cancerous ones. New techniques based on nanoparticles are being developed, where the injected nanoparticles travel through the blood to carry out their therapeutic mission once they reach the tumor. The mission may be the delivery of a therapeutic drug or the release of heat. This latter technique, known as thermotherapy, uses the fact that cancer cells are more sensitive to heat than healthy ones. Engineered nanoparticles are similarly used to carry missions of degrading or transforming contaminants for the purpose of water or soil remediation. Regardless of the application, the success of the techniques depends on how the nanoparticles travel and distribute when they reach their destination. Due to many factors, there is currently limited control on the nanoparticles fate and it is critical to develop an understanding of the effects of these factors on the particles journey, and in turn their efficiency. Out of the many known factors, the particles size has been identified as one of the most important. Existing relevant studies assume that all particles have the same size. In addition, these studies do not account for a number of mechanisms including special heat effects, as for example encountered in thermotherapy. As a result, we do not currently know how these aspects actually affect the particles transport and distribution. This research will look closely at these aspects and their effects on the particles journey by considering particles with a wide range of sizes and by factoring the role of heat transfer. The analysis will examine flows of nanoparticles through geometries such as small pipes or blood vessels, their interactions with other particles as well as pipe walls, and their penetration and distribution in porous structures, such as a tumor. To achieve this, physical models will be developed to capture the main dynamics in the particles journey. The model equations will be solved using advanced simulations techniques based on newly developed numerical algorithms. The research will contribute to the development of new designs and techniques to achieve optimal and efficient nanoparticles delivery with applications primarily in drug delivery but also in soil decontamination and oil recovery. This will translate into benefit to the health and well-being of Canadians and added societal and economic value.