9th International Conference on Body Area Networks

Research Article

On the Affection of the Human Immune System on a Nanoparticulate Nanomedicine System

  • @INPROCEEDINGS{10.4108/icst.bodynets.2014.256922,
        author={Valeria Loscri and Anna Maria Vegni},
        title={On the Affection of the Human Immune System on a Nanoparticulate Nanomedicine System},
        proceedings={9th International Conference on Body Area Networks},
        publisher={ICST},
        proceedings_a={BODYNETS},
        year={2014},
        month={11},
        keywords={nanonetworks human immune system fault probability drug delivery},
        doi={10.4108/icst.bodynets.2014.256922}
    }
    
  • Valeria Loscri
    Anna Maria Vegni
    Year: 2014
    On the Affection of the Human Immune System on a Nanoparticulate Nanomedicine System
    BODYNETS
    ACM
    DOI: 10.4108/icst.bodynets.2014.256922
Valeria Loscri,*, Anna Maria Vegni1
  • 1: Roma Tre University
*Contact email: valeria.loscri@inria.fr

Abstract

In this paper, a nanoparticulate system model for nanomedicine applications, based on the molecular communication paradigm, is presented. The biological environment, comprised by the presence of the human immune system, is object of study, since it can affect the optimal behavior of nanoparticles, aiming to locally deliver drug inside the human body. Indeed, when a flow of nanoparticles is injected in the blood, the interference due to the immune system can provide a strong decrease of the nanoparticle concentration, by means of phagocytosis process. As a consequence, the correct drug delivery will occur with a lower probability. It is well-known that the mechanism behind the biological immune system is very complicated. In this paper a simplistic model is derived, by assuming nanoparticles similar in the shape and the size to B-cells. This assumption is realistic, since scientists that design and implement nanodevices try to build them in a way that the immune response is minimal. These remarks make possible the application of diffusion laws to the global system, constituted by the nanoparticles and the cells of the immune system. Finally, the end-to-end physical model of a nanoparticulate nanomedicine system with the presence of the human immune system is derived. It will be analyzed from the perspective of the errors that can occur in such an environment, and how these errors can affect the performance of the system, in terms of nanoparticle survival probability.