J Appl Biomed 15:33-38, 2017 | DOI: 10.1016/j.jab.2016.09.006

Magnetocaloric effect for inducing hypothermia as new therapeutic strategy for stroke: A physical approach

Ramón Iglesias-Rey^a,*, Alba Vieites-Prado^a, Bárbara Argibay^a, Francisco Campos^a, Manuel Bañobre-López^b, Tomás Sobrino^a, José Rivas^b,c, José Castillo^a,*

^a Clinical Neurosciences Research Laboratory, Department of Neurology, Hospital Clínico Universitario, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), Spain

^b International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Portugal

^c Department of Applied Physics, Technological Research Institute, Nanotechnolgy and Magnetism Lab-NANOMAG, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Hypothermia is an effective neuroprotective strategy for acute stroke. However, in clinical practice, the induction of hypothermia is achieved through the systemic reduction of body temperature (using thermal covers or endovascular cooling devices) which results in a complex system associated in many cases to side effects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test the magnetocaloric effect as a potential new therapeutic strategy for stroke by means of an adiabatic magnetic refrigerator device.
As a first approach, we have developed a simple device to evaluate in vitro the thermodynamic behavior of different concentrations of commercial gadolinium powder as a reference magnetocaloric material. The samples, properly thermally insulated, were cyclically magnetized and demagnetized at room temperature by 1 T permanent magnets in order to induce an adiabatic magnetic effect. Under the experimental conditions tested, results showed a maximun non-accumulative temperature variation of 0.2 °C, insufficient to carry out an effective hypothermia. This study allowed us to discuss about the use of new materials and strategies for further in vivo experiments.

Keywords: Biomedical applications; Biomaterials; Gadolinium; Hypothermia; Magnetocaloric material; Stroke

Received: February 5, 2016; Accepted: September 22, 2016; Published: January 1, 2017  Show citation