Radiowave Activation of Nanoparticles for Cancer Treatment

Indianapolis, IN

The nanotechnology has proven potential to significantly improve the performance characteristics of today's imaging and treatment modalities, and offers new approaches for selective treatment and targeted nanodrug delivery. The nanodrugs/nanoparticles, selectively delivered to the tumor site, can be then activated by radiation for a drug release or nanoparticles can be used as a drug itself by producing biological damage through thermal, mechanical ablations or charged particle emission. The RF waves have excellent ability to penetrate into the human body giving a great opportunity to activate/heat nanoparticles inside the body for diagnosis and treatment purposes. However the heating of nanoparticles in RF range of spectrum is controversial in research community because of the low power load of RF-waves and low absorption by nanoparticles in radio frequency range. This study uses a phenomenological approach to estimate the absorption efficiency of metal and dielectric nanoparticles in RF range through study the heating kinetics of those particles in radio wave field. The time-dependent simulations are carried out for different nonstationary RF-nanoparticle interactions for single pulse and multipulse modes of heating. We also discuss the specific features of heating kinetics of nanoparticles such as a short time scale for heating and cooling of nanoparticles in liquid biological environment with high thermal conductivity properties; effect of radiation field structure (pulse shape, pulse duration, repetition rate, time interval between pulses) on kinetics of heating and cooling by single pulse and multipulse modes of heating.