Finite element analysis of thermal sensitivity of copper nanorods, nanoellipsoids, nanospheres and core-shells for hyperthermia application

Abstract

Hyperthermia is a cancer treatment strategy that involves raising the temperature of the afflicted tissues without disrupting the surrounding tissues. This study is focused on finite element analysis of copper, nanoellipsoids, nanorods, nanospheres and core-shells for potential hyperthermia application. The temperature of copper nanostructures was elevated using an external source to the desired temperature to destroy the cancerous cell. The COMSOL Multiphysics package was used to calculate how long it would take to achieve the desired temperature using different nanostructures of copper. Thermal sensitivity of the tested nanostructures was checked by putting them in a spherical domain of tissue. It was observed that copper nano-rod attained the highest temperature of 43.3 °C compared to other geometries. It was also found that these geometries attained thermal equilibrium just after 0.5 μs. However, the copper nano-ellipsoid had a higher core volume, which is utilized to determine the thermal sensitivity of the nanostructures. Noble metal (Au) coating was first found to be better than PEG polymer coating for investigating core–shell structures. The Au coating on the surface of the copper core resulted in a gradual decrease in temperature with an increasing volume coverage ratio. These results conclude that copper nanostructures can be suitable candidates for hyperthermia.