An emerging therapy for cancer is magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH). MFH involves selectively heating the cancerous tissue to therapeutic temperatures (~45°C) by localizing the magnetic nanoparticles followed by the application of an alternating magnetic field. Our research is focused on the preparation of magnetic nanoparticles for MFH. In particular, we are interested in developing particles with a Curie temperature that equals the therapeutic temperature. Such particles will self-regulate the temperature of the cancerous tissue during MFH, avoiding the need for sophisticated controllers. We are investigating FePt and NiPd nanoparticles for such self-regulated MFH.

We focus on studying the magnetic properties and the surface chemistry of the particles. The magnetic properties dictate the amount of heat that will be generated, which in turn decides the amount of particles that need to be dosed. The surface chemistry of the particles increases the chance of confining the particles to the cancerous tissue to prevent healthy tissue damage. The particle synthesis introduces ligands that disperse them in non-polar solvents like hexane. We carry out ligand exchange on the particles with the aim of making the particles hydrophilic and introducing specific functional groups to increase their localization to the cancerous tissue. The present work is a presentation of our efforts towards preparation of magnetic nanoparticles for self-regulated hyperthermia.