Finite element analysis of coating thickness effect over metal nanostructures for hyperthermia

Abstract

As a therapeutic approach for cancer, hyperthermia involves selectively increasing the temperature of affected tissues while preserving adjacent healthy tissues. This study explores the efficacy of pristine and coated silver, copper, and gold nanostructures such as nanorods, nanospheres, and nanoellipsoids for hyperthermia. This study performed finite element analysis to assess the relative performance of pristine nanostructures and those covered with different coating thicknesses. The metallic nanostructures were enclosed within the spherical zone of malignant tissue of 500 nm size, and the ambient temperature of these nanostructures was increased to 42–46 °C. Thermal equilibrium was reached after 0.1 μs of heating in the treatment region. Compared to other geometries, the nanorods quickly attained the required temperature in the treatment region. The nanorods with 1 nm coating thickness showed a fast heating response compared to 2 and 3 nm coatings. Silver, gold, and copper nanorods reached a temperature of 44.2, 43.6, and 43.5 °C, respectively, after 0.1 μs of heating. Gold-coated silver nanorods were discovered to be most efficient at achieving the highest temperature of 44.2 °C.