title: Numerical simulation of the effect of superparamagnetic nanoparticles on microwave rewarming of cryopreserved tissues.
abstract: In this study, the microwave rewarming process of cryopreserved samples with embedded superparamagnetic (SPM) nanoparticles was numerically simulated. The Finite Element Method (FEM) was used to calculate the coupling of the electromagnetic field and the temperature field in a microwave rewarming system composed of a cylindrical resonant cavity, an antenna source, and a frozen sample phantom with temperature-dependent properties. The heat generated by the sample and the nanoparticles inside the electromagnetic field of the microwave cavity was calculated. The dielectric properties of the biological tissues were approximated using the Debye model, which is applicable at different temperatures. The numerical results showed that, during the rewarming process of the sample phantom without nanoparticles, the rewarming rate was 29.45°C/min and the maximum temperature gradient in the sample was 3.58°C/mm. If nanoparticles were embedded in the sample, and the cavity power was unchanged, the rewarming rate was 47.76°C/min and the maximum temperature gradient in the sample was 1.64°C/mm. In the presence of SPM nanoparticles, the rewarming rate and the maximum temperature gradient were able to reach 20.73°C/min and 0.68°C/mm at the end of the rewarming under the optimized cavity power setting, respectively. The ability to change these temperature behaviors may prevent devitrification and would greatly diminish thermal stress during the rewarming process. The results indicate that the rewarming rate and the uniformity of temperature distribution are increased by nanoparticles. This could be because nanoparticles generated heat in the sample homogeneously and the time-dependent parameters of the sample improved after nanoparticles were homogeneously embedded within it. We were thus able to estimate the positive effect of SPM nanoparticles on microwave rewarming of cryopreserved samples.
authors: Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Electronic Science & Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China.
authors: Tao
authors: T
authors: Wang
authors: Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Electronic Science & Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China. Electronic address: ZhaoG@ustc.edu.cn.
authors: Gang
authors: G
authors: Zhao
authors: Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Electronic Science & Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
authors: Xin M
authors: XM
authors: Liang
authors: Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Electronic Science & Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China.
authors: Yunpeng
authors: Y
authors: Xu
authors: Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Electronic Science & Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China.
authors: Yang
authors: Y
authors: Li
authors: Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Electronic Science & Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China.
authors: Heyu
authors: H
authors: Tang
authors: Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Electronic Science & Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China.
authors: Rui
authors: R
authors: Jiang
authors: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: dayong@u.washington.edu.
authors: Dayong
authors: D
authors: Gao
mesh_terms: D015925:Cryopreservation; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D008872:Microwaves; D053758:Nanoparticles
keywords: Cryopreserved tissues; Finite element method (FEM); Microwave rewarming; Superparamagnetic (SPM) nanoparticles