ABSTRACT
In recent years, cell-based new therapeutic strategies have been intensively explored for tissue regeneration and targeted drug delivery. In this context, cells loaded with magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) gain increasing interest as MNP migration can easily be followed in vivo by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Moreover, an external magnetic šeld enables the direction and concentration of cells loaded with MNPs at the desired sites for imaging, tissue repair, drug delivery or cancer therapy by hyperthermia. Several cell types have been used to test this strategy. This chapter focuses on loading blood cells with MNPs additionally providing an overview on general strategies for entrapment of drugs and nanoparticles in cells, examples of promising results and applications.
