Harmonic phases of the nanoparticle magnetization: An intrinsic temperature probe

International audienceMagnetic fluid hyperthermia is a promising cancer therapy in which magnetic nanoparticles act as heat sources activated by an external AC magnetic field. The nanoparticles, located near or inside the tumor, absorb energy from the magnetic field and then heat up the cancerous tissues. During the hyperthermia treatment, it is crucial to control the temperature of different tissues: too high temperature can cause undesired damage in healthy tissues through an uncontrolled necrosis. However, the current thermometry in magnetic hyperthermia presents some important technical problems. The widely used optical fiber thermometers only provide the temperature in a discrete set of spatial points. Moreover, surgery is required to locate these probes in the correct place. In this scope, we propose here a method to measure the temperature of a magnetic sample. The approach relies on the intrinsic properties of the magnetic nanoparticles because it is based on monitoring the thermal dependence of the high order harmonic phases of the nanoparticle dynamic magnetization. The method is non-invasive and it does not need any additional probe or sensor attached to the magnetic nanoparticles. Moreover, this method has the potential to be used together with the magnetic particle imaging technique to map the spatial distribution of the temperature. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC