Laser and radiofrequency-induced hyperthermia treatment via gold-coated magnetic nanocomposites

INTRODUCTION: The current radiofrequency ablation technique requires invasive needle placement. On the other hand, most of the common photothermal therapeutic methods are limited by lack of accuracy of targeting. Gold and magnetic nanoparticles offer the potential to heat tumor tissue selectively at the cellular level by noninvasive interaction with laser and radiofrequency. METHODS: Gold nanospheres and gold-coated magnetic nanocomposites were used for inducing hyperthermia to treat subcutaneous Ehrlich carcinoma implanted in female mice. RESULTS: In mice treated with gold nanospheres, tumors continued to grow but at a slow rate. In contrast, more than 50% of the tumors treated with gold-coated magnetic nanocomposites completely disappeared. CONCLUSION: This simple and noninvasive method shows great promise as a technique for selective magnetic photothermal treatment.