The present work describes a new approach for non-invasively targeting respiratory tract deposition of high aspect ratio aerosols loaded with magnetic nanoparticles by controlling particle orientations through magnetic field alignment. Enhanced deposition of aligned particles is measured in vitro in a physical model of the small, bifurcating airways found in the lung. Unlike previous approaches to magnetic drug targeting, the approach presented herein requires no gradient in the magnetic field strength. and can be accomplished with small amounts of magnetic material compared to active drug. This approach shows promise for targeting aerosol drug delivery to specific locations within the lung. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.