Combination of Photothermal Therapy with Magnetic Hyperthermia Therapy

The primary rationale for combining magnetic hyperthermia with photothermal hyperthermia is to take advantage of the temperature elevation of magnetic hyperthermia to kill disease cells and to release chemotherapy drugs from the nanoconjugates, further contributing to the death of disease cells. It is also to utilize the targeting capabilities of magnetic nanoparticles and their applications to achieve magnetic resonance imaging guided therapy. Given the significantly higher photothermal conversion compared to magnetothermal conversion, the contribution of photothermal hyperthermia in this technology allows for enhancement of the modulation of the temperature elevation in the combination. Because the nanoparticles used for the photothermal and magnetic hyperthermia therapy combination must possess the desired properties for the photothermal conversion and the magnetothermal conversion, core–shell nanoparticles of iron oxide and gold are ubiquitous because of the pronounced plasmonic properties of gold and the magnetic properties of iron oxide. The combination has been investigated against cancer and also against microbial pathogens. It is also considered as a promising technology to treat arterial inflammation and thrombosis. Several studies have demonstrated synergism in vitro.