Abstract
Nanomaterial mediated hyperthermia, or termed nano-hyperthermia, is emerging as a very promising approach to innovate conventional cancer thermal therapy. The current industry is witnessing a rapid growth in the numbers of filed and issued patents in this area. Various types of nanomaterials, such as gold nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, and multifunctional particles etc., are being invented as heating enhancers, image contrast agents and drug delivery carriers etc. Meanwhile, tremendous efforts are also made to improve the heating and energy administration modalities and devices in nano-hyperthermia by taking full use of the many unique merits offered by the nanotechnologies and new heating strategies. This article is dedicated to present a comprehensive analysis on the latest advancement made towards finding new materials and devices for nano-hyperthermia. Typical patents throughout the world will be classified and comparatively interpreted. Some important technical issues will be outlined and future directions worth of pursuing will be suggested.
Keywords: Nano-hyperthermia, nanoparticles, biomedical device, thermal ablation, physical therapy, Cancer, tumors, tumor therapy, metallic nanostructures, Gold Nanoparticles Heating, colloidal nanorods, Gold nanocages, gold nanotubes, tumor-homing peptide