Minimally invasive, closed loop temperature controlled magnetic hyperthermia therapy using swarm of superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles

Abstract

Hyperthermia therapy is a type of medical treatment in which body tissue is exposed to higher temperatures in an effort to treat cancer. Magnetic nano-particles are excellent for hyperthermia treatment. When a high frequency alternating magnetic field is applied, magnetic nanoparticles can increase the temperature which can then be used to kill cancer cells with minimum damage to the surrounding tissues. This Theses characterizes the physical properties such as size and magnetization, cell viability and heat generation capabilities against increasing magnetic field intensity. A feedback controller is also developed and its performance has been evaluated to monitor and control the temperature non-invasively using an Infrared camera. The developed feedback controller is then used for both in-vitro and in-vivo conditions in order to destroy the tumor. In-vitro studies are conducted with cancerous cell lines, HeLa and PC3, where cultured cells are heated with magnetic nanoparticles and cell death are characterized for different conditions. For in-vivo, PC3 xenograft tumor mice model was prepared and was treated by injecting magnetic nanoparticles directly into the tumor. These tumors were heated under alternating magnetic, increasing their temperature and resulting in cell death. A swarm of magnetic nanoparticles was manipulated inside the blood vessel of rat’s brain to show the possibility of targeted delivery of nanoparticles which can then be heated to kill cancer cells selectively. Keywords: Magnetic hyperthermia, Magnetic nanoparticles, Feedback control