Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle-based approaches have been applied in various biomedical applications. The objective of this dissertation is to leverage knowledge of material advancements in magnetic particle technologies to develop new engineering measurements which can be used to better analyze physiologic changes in osteoarthritis (OA). First, new methods termed “magnetic particle translation” and “magnetic particle deflection” will be introduced, in which magnetic particle flow through a fluid was used to understand viscosity changes in synovial fluid. Second, a method will be discussed in which magnetic particles were used to capture, magnetically recover, and quantify specific molecules from the synovial joint, providing a new technique to understand molecular mediators in OA. Finally, proteomic methods were utilized to characterize the non-specific protein absorption on the particle surface. Moreover, these methods were used to demonstrate how protein corona-particle interactions change as joint environment changes. Each of these magnetic particle based assays further characterize physiologic changes within the joint and may be used to better understand OA etiology and pathology.