title: Measurement of the thermal conductivity of carbon nanotube--tissue phantom composites with the hot wire probe method.
abstract: Developing combinatorial treatments involving laser irradiation and nanoparticles require an understanding of the effect of nanoparticle inclusion on tissue thermal properties, such as thermal conductivity. This information will permit a more accurate prediction of temperature distribution and tumor response following therapy, as well as provide additional information to aid in the selection of the appropriate type and concentration of nanoparticles. This study measured the thermal conductivity of tissue representative phantoms containing varying types and concentrations of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs, length of 900-1200 nm and diameter of 40-60 nm), single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs, length of 900-1200 nm and diameter <2 nm), and a novel embodiment of SWNTs referred to as single-walled carbon nanohorns (SWNHs, length of 25-50 nm and diameter of 3-5 nm) of varying concentrations (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/mL) were uniformly dispersed in sodium alginate tissue representative phantoms. The thermal conductivity of phantoms containing CNTs was measured using a hot wire probe method. Increasing CNT concentration from 0 to 1.0 mg/mL caused the thermal conductivity of phantoms containing SWNTs, SWNHs, and MWNTs to increase by 24, 30, and 66%, respectively. For identical CNT concentrations, phantoms containing MWNTs possessed the highest thermal conductivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. saugata@vt.edu
authors.forename: Saugata
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.forename: Weinan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Leng
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vikesland
authors.forename: Jianfei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dorn
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Diller
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rylander
authors.forename: Marissa Nichole
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Rylander
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D013814:Thermal Conductivity
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D020723:Glucuronic Acid