Application of single walled carbon nanotubes for heating agent in photothermal therapy

TL;DR

This paper theoretically investigates single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as heating agents in photothermal therapy, analyzing temperature distribution during laser heating to optimize SWNT specifications for improved cancer treatment.

Contribution

The study models SWNTs as heating agents, calculates temperature profiles during laser heating, and relates maximum temperature to SWNT diameter and chirality, advancing understanding for therapy optimization.

Findings

Maximum temperature occurs at SWNT-cancer cell interface.

Temperature is proportional to the square of SWNT diameter.

SWNT chirality influences diameter and heating efficiency.

Abstract

We present the theoretical investigation of the single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as the heating agent of photothermal therapy. In our model, the SWNT is modeled by rigid tube surrounded by cancer cells. In this model, we neglect the angle dependence of temperature and assume that the length of SWNT is much longer than the radius of tube. We calculated the temperature rise of the SWNT and its surrounding cancer cells during the laser heating by solving one-dimensional heat conduction equation in steady state condition. We found that the maximum temperature is located at the interface between SWNT and cancer cells. This maximum temperature is proportional to the square of SWNTs diameter and diameter of SWNTs depends on their chirality. These results extend our understanding of the temperature distribution in SWNT during the laser heating process and provide the suggested specification of SWNT for the improvement the photothermal therapy in the future.