Dissolution of thrombus under high gradient magnetic fields

This study focused on the mechanism of effects of strong magnetic fields on a process of of fibrin clots. We measured the rate of fibrinolysis using a fibrin column as a model of a thrombus, and investigated the effects of gradient magnetic fields. Fibrin clots in glass tubes were digested by plasmin under magnetic fields of up to 8 T which were produced by a horizontal type of superconducting magnet at 37/spl deg/C. When a fibrin gel and a plasmin solution were exposed to magnetic fields where a product of magnetic fields and field gradients, B/spl middot/dB/dz, was 370 T/sup 2//m, dissolution of fibrin was enhanced by 34 %. However, we obtained no distinct effects when B/spl middot/dB/dz was less than 150 T/sup 2//m. As a mechanism, we proposed a model in which fibrin polymers in water magnetophoresically drifted in the direction of increasing magnetic fields, and digestions of fibrin polymers by plasmin were accelerated.