Endovascular magnetic filters for removing excess chemotherapeutic drugs from blood flow using dimensionless scaling laws.

Intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is limited by the escape of chemotherapeutic agents into systemic circulation, causing severe side effects such as heart failure. This study aims to develop and optimize endovascular magnetic filtration devices to enhance IAC efficacy, by targeted removal of excess drug-coated ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) particles from circulation. Device performance was evaluated through multi-physics simulations that coupled the transport of drug-coated magnetic particles in blood flow with magnetic interactions and magnetophoretic forces. A dimensional analysis framework was applied to characterize particle capture efficiency ( CE ) across alternative device designs, and numerical predictions were compared with published benchtop experiments. Optimized multi-stage filters achieved up to ~80% predicted capture efficiency, while reducing the risk of intravascular device collapse. These results demonstrate a novel strategy for reducing systemic toxicity in IAC through endovascular magnetic filtration, indicating its potential to improve the safety and effectiveness of HCC treatment.