Quantification in histopathology—Can magnetic particles help?

Progress in applications of magnetic nanoparticles in biomedicine

“…However, there are applications that do not fit neatly in these categories, but are instead defined by the clinical need that they are designed to meet. Although we will not discuss them in detail here, it is worth noting that there is substantial work being done in areas such as novel MRI techniques for monitoring iron levels in the liver, and the diagnosis of iron overload diseases [107]; methods for probing the life-cycle of the malaria parasite, which produces a magnetic mineral called hemazoin in inflected red blood cells [108]; proposals for using conjugated magnetic particles and anti-HER2 targets to enable a quantitative, magnetic form of immunohistochemistry on breast cancer biopsies [109]; the use of magnetically actuated viscous ferrofluids in the eye for the treatment of detached retinas [110]; magnetic stents and magnetically tagged endothelial cells for treating cardiovascular disease [111] and the development of novel hand-held probes based on magnetoresistive sensors [112] or ultra-sensitive susceptometers [113] for tracing lymphatic drainage from breast and lung cancer tumours.…”