Thermal Effect by Applying Laser Heating in Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Dissolved in Distilled Water

Abstract

Due to their physical properties and biocompatibility, iron oxide nanoparticles have received particular attention in recent years for the localized hyperthermia therapy, where they are targeted to an organ, tissue or tumor and an external source is used for heating. Several physical, chemical and biological methods have been used to synthetize nanoparticles. A mechanical alloying method was used in this work to manufacture Fe2O3 nanoparticles. The size and shape of the nanoparticles were measured by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. In this work, experiments were conducted with the nanoparticles dissolved in distilled water and heated by a laser in the near infrared range, with temperature measurements taken by an infrared camera. Numerical simulations were performed with COMSOL Multiphysics and compared to the experimental results. The numerical results agree with the measurements within the experimental uncertainties. The experimental results revealed a larger temperature increase of the sample surface for a larger concentration of nanoparticles. Hence, the Fe2O3 nanoparticles manufactured in this work behaved as a thermal agent with potential use for the hyperthermia therapy, including the treatment of cancer.