A Theoretical Analysis of Magnetic Particle Alignment in External Magnetic Fields Affected by Viscosity and Brownian Motion

Abstract

The interaction of an external magnetic field with magnetic objects affects their response and is a fundamental property for many biomedical applications, including magnetic resonance and particle imaging, electromagnetic hyperthermia, and magnetic targeting and separation. Magnetic alignment and relaxation are widely studied in the context of these applications. In this study, we theoretically investigate the alignment dynamics of a rotational magnetic particle as an inverse process to Brownian relaxation. The selected external magnetic flux density ranges from 5μT to 5T. We found that the viscous torque for arbitrary rotating particles with a history term due to the inertia and friction of the surrounding ambient water has a significant effect in strong magnetic fields (range 1–5T). In this range, oscillatory behavior due to the inertial torque of the particle also occurs, and the stochastic Brownian torque diminishes. In contrast, for weak fields (range 5–50μT), the history term of the viscous torque and the inertial torque can be neglected, and the stochastic Brownian torque induced by random collisions of the surrounding fluid molecules becomes dominant. These results contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of magnetic particle alignment in external magnetic fields and have important implications in a variety of biomedical applications.