Biomedical Applications of Magnetic Nanoparticles: Remote Control of Cells

Speaker: Jon Dobson, J Crayton Pruitt Family Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Abstract: The use of magnetic micro and nanoparticles for biomedical applications was first proposed in the

1920s as a way to measure the rheological properties of the cytoplasm. Since that time, particle

synthesis techniques and functionality have advanced significantly. Magnetic micro and

nanoparticles are now used in a variety of biomedical applications such as targeted drug delivery,

MRI contrast enhancement, gene transfection, immunoassay and cell sorting. More recently,

magnetic micro and nanoparticles have been used to investigate and manipulate cellular

processes both in vitro and in vivo.

This talk will focus on our work developing Magnetically Activated Receptor Signaling (MARS) – a

magnetic nanoparticle–based technique for activating cell surface receptors and controlling the

activity of biomolecules such as growth factors. The basic principles involve surface

functionalization of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with molecules targeting specific cell surface

receptors. We have investigated antibodies targeting specific ion channels (e.g. TREK1), surface

receptors (e.g. PDGFRα & β) and peptides (e.g. RGD) targeting integrins. The particles bind to the

receptors and, upon the application of a highgradient external magnetic field, energy is transferred

to the particles. The energy delivery induces a conformation change in the receptor, activating the

specific biochemical signaling pathway associated with that receptor. By targeting specific

receptors, we have been able to control ion channel activity, activate bone and cartilage matrix

formation, and control the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells both in vitro and in

vivo. We have developed this technology for applications in cell engineering/regenerative medicine

and stem cell therapy The MARS technology has applications in regenerative medicine, drug

screening and cell engineering.

Biography: Jon Dobson is the J Crayton Pruitt Family Professor of Biomedical Engineering and currently holds a UF Research Foundation Professorship at the University of Florida. He graduated with a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of Florida and a PhD in Natural Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH-Zurich. He did his postdoctoral training in geomagnetism and biophysics at both the ETH-Zurich and The University of Western Australia, before taking a faculty position at Keele University in the United Kingdom. In 2011, he returned to the University of Florida as Professor of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering.

Professor Dobson’s research focuses on biomedical applications of magnetic micro- and nanoparticles, the role of brain iron in neurodegenerative diseases, and biomedical device design. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), The Royal Society of Biology, The Royal Society of Medicine, and a past Royal Society of London Wolfson Research Merit Fellow. In 2002, he was selected for the Wellcome Trust’s Sir Henry Wellcome Showcase Award, and in 2008 the UK Medical Research Council’s César Milstein Award. He was a 2019 Weldon School of Engineering Distinguished Lecturer at Purdue University, the Page Morton Hunter Distinguished Lecturer at Clemson University in 2012, and recipient of the International Journal of Nanomedicine’s Distinguished Scientist Award in 2017.

Professor Dobson has authored or co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, which have garnered over 24,000 citations. He is one of the 50 most highly cited researchers in regenerative medicine in the world, and one of the 60 most highly cited in nanomedicine, according to Google Scholar. He has 37 US and world-wide patents awarded or pending, and is co-founder of three spin-off companies that, between them, have raised over $7 million in grants and private equity funding. His patents have been licensed by companies in the UK and the US, and these technologies are in use in academic institutions and biotechnology companies in more than 25 countries around the world.