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Measurement of the Thermal Conductivity of Carbon Nanotube–Tissue Phantom Composites with the Hot Wire Probe Method

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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.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the following sources: National Institute of Health Grant 1 R21 CA135230-01, National Science Foundation Grants CBET 0731108 and Early CAREER Award CBET 0955072, and an Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science Grant (ICTAS, Virginia Tech). We would also like to thank Dr. David Geohegan from Oak Ridge National Laboratories for kindly providing the single-walled carbon nanohorns and Dr. David Carroll’s group from Wake Forest University for further chemical modification of the multi-walled nanotubes to achieve appropriate lengths.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, ICTAS Building, Stanger Street, MC0298, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Saugata Sarkar, Thomas Diller, Christopher Rylander & Marissa Nichole Rylander

  2. School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Virginia Tech-Wake Forrest University, ICTAS Building, Stanger Street, MC0298, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Kristen Zimmermann, Christopher Rylander & Marissa Nichole Rylander

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 415 Durham Hall, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Weinan Leng & Peter Vikesland

  4. Department of Chemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1109 Hahn Hall South, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Jianfei Zhang & Harry Dorn

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  1. Saugata Sarkar
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  2. Kristen Zimmermann
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  3. Weinan Leng
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Correspondence to Marissa Nichole Rylander.

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Associate Editor James Tunnell oversaw the review of this article.

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Sarkar, S., Zimmermann, K., Leng, W. et al. Measurement of the Thermal Conductivity of Carbon Nanotube–Tissue Phantom Composites with the Hot Wire Probe Method. Ann Biomed Eng 39, 1745–1758 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-011-0268-7

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