Using phase change material nanoparticles for thermal storage to protect healthy tissues by hyperthermia method assisted by a magnetic field for cancer tissue ablation

Abstract

Magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH) is a promising cancer treatment due to its minimal invasiveness and limited adverse effects. It targets tumor cells by heating them to a specific temperature, utilizing heat generated by magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) in response to an external magnetic field. This study is a numerical theoretical research, in which tissue cancer is embedded with MNPs and healthy tissue is embedded with phase change materials (PCMs). Among different materials, PCM paraffin wax is selected because it is recognized as one of the most functional types of paraffin-based PCM, known for its high thermal storage capability, and is a also subset of non-toxic organic PCM materials. The novelty of this work lies in using a magnetic field produced by a solenoid to approach real conditions and using phase change materials as energy storage materials to protect healthy cells. The finite element method (FEM) by COMSOL Multi-physics commercial software is used to solve governing equations. The effect of using PCMs on tissue temperature distribution is carefully studied. The results of this study show that the use of PCM significantly reduces the temperature of healthy tissues around the tumor in a controllable temperature range, leading to less tissue damage when MNPs release heat. The effect of PCMs on tissue temperature distribution increases with the rise of their volume fraction. The results show that moving the tumor from the center to the outside of the coil decreases the temperature inside the tumor, and the temperature distribution becomes non-uniform. Results from this study can be used to add PCM for MFH to control the temperature of tissue more accurately.