Physical Origin of Magnetoelectroporation

Abstract

Magnetoelectroporation is an effective method of opening nanopores in cell membranes using magnetoelectric nanoparticles (MENPs) for the purpose of in vivo and in vitro delivery of drug substances to cancer cells. A microscopic approach is proposed as theoretical basis for that phenomenon. The underlying Hamiltonian includes the magnetic and ferroelectric subsystems characterized by two‐order parameters. The related magnetoelectric coefficient αHE characterizes the relationship between the applied magnetic field and a generated local electric field. Whereas the spontaneous polarization of the MENP is due to the arrangement of electric dipoles, there appears an additional spin‐assisted polarization owing to the magnetic phase transition. It is shown that the main contribution to the local field comes from . Moreover, the local electric field depends on the orientation of the easy‐axis magnetization of the MENPs with respect to applied external magnetic field. The magnetoelectric coefficient exhibits a nonlinear dependence on the external magnetic field. The results are based on an analytical Green's function method. The numerical calculations are performed for spherical, structurally heterogeneous nanoparticles composed on a core and a shell, where the noninteracting nanoparticles have the same diameter of 25 nm. The results are in qualitative agreement with experimental observations.