The biological effects of high-gradient magnetic fields (HGMFs) have steadily gained the increased attention of researchers from different disciplines, such as cell biology, cell therapy, targeted stem cell delivery and nanomedicine. We present a theoretical framework towards a fundamental understanding of the effects of HGMFs on intracellular processes, highlighting new directions for the study of living cell machinery: changing the probability of ion-channel on/off switching events by membrane magneto-mechanical stress, suppression of cell growth by magnetic pressure, magnetically induced cell division and cell reprograming, and forced migration of membrane receptor proteins. By deriving a generalized form for the Nernst equation, we find that a relatively small magnetic field (approximately 1 T) with a large gradient (up to 1 GT/m) can significantly change the membrane potential of the cell and thus have a significant impact on not only the properties and biological functionality of cells but also cell fate.

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We show, combining simulations and analytical study, the evolution of magnetization distributions in ultrathin film with in-plane fields (H ʈ ) and changes of magnetic anisotropy characterized by the quality factor, Q. Reconstruction of the distributions and their new types near Q or H ʈ -induced reorientation phase transitions, from a domain structure ͑DS͒ with perpendicular magnetization into a state with in-plane magnetization, are reported. Sinusoidal-like DS exist for H ʈ larger than the anisotropy field and for QϽ1. A minimal 8l ex DS period is predicted (l ex is the exchange length͒.

Imagine cells that live in a high-gradient magnetic field (HGMF). Through what mechanisms do the cells sense a non-uniform magnetic field and how such a field changes the cell fate? We show that magnetic forces generated by HGMFs can be comparable to intracellular forces and therefore may be capable of altering the functionality of an individual cell and tissues in unprecedented ways. We identify the cellular effectors of such fields and propose novel routes in cell biology predicting new biological effects such as magnetic control of cell-to-cell communication and vesicle transport, magnetic control of intracellular ROS levels, magnetically induced differentiation of stem cells, magnetically assisted cell division, or prevention of cells from dividing. On the basis of experimental facts and theoretical modeling we reveal timescales of cellular responses to high-gradient magnetic fields and suggest an explicit dependence of the cell response time on the magnitude of the magnetic field gradient.

A general framework for the domain size in any ultrathin film with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is here discussed. The domain structure is analyzed by using the classical theory taking into consideration the demagnetization field contribution to the domain wall energy. A sinusoidal model is considered to describe the domain structure while approaching, in two different cases, the monodomain state with in-plane magnetization. The first case is realized applying a large enough in-plane magnetic field. The second one is obtained by decreasing the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, which is connected in many ultrathin systems with the increase of film thickness. A change in the domain size of several orders of magnitude is obtained while approaching the magnetization reorientation region. The minimal stripe domain period pϭ8ᐉ ex 2 /d is calculated from the sinusoidal model, where ᐉ ex is the exchange length and d is the thickness of the film. The range of possible domain size changes in ultrathin films is predicted. The domain size has been experimentally studied in a 1 nm Co film characterized by a square hysteresis loop. The investigations have been performed by polar Kerr based microscopy and magnetic force microscopy. The domain structure of two remnant states generated by applying an in-plane and a perpendicular magnetic field has been compared. Drastically, the smallest domain size has been observed for the former.

Interactions between magnetic fields (MFs) and living cells may stimulate a large variety of cellular responses to a MF, while the underlying intracellular mechanisms still remain a great puzzle. On a fundamental level, the MF — cell interaction is affected by the two broken symmetries: (a) left‐right (LR) asymmetry of the MF and (b) chirality of DNA molecules carrying electric charges and subjected to the Lorentz force when moving in a MF. Here we report on the chirality‐driven effect of static magnetic fields (SMFs) on DNA synthesis. This newly discovered effect reveals how the interplay between two fundamental features of symmetry in living and inanimate nature—DNA chirality and the inherent features of MFs to distinguish the left and right—manifests itself in different DNA synthesis rates in the upward and downward SMFs, consequently resulting in unequal cell proliferation for the two directions of the field. The interplay between DNA chirality and MF LR asymmetry will provide fundamental knowledge for many MF‐induced biological phenotypes.

Being essential for many pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic processes and playing a crucial role in regulating substrate detachment that enables cellular locomotion, endocytotic mechanisms in many aspects still remain a mystery and therefore can hardly be controlled. Here, we report on experimental and modeling studies of the magnetically assisted endocytosis of functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles by prostate cancer cells (PC-3) and characterize the time and force scales of the cellular uptake machinery. The results indicate how the cellular uptake rate could be controlled by applied magnetic field, membrane elasticity, and nanoparticle magnetic moment.

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