Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering [K.M.M., M.H.], University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
Pediatr Res. 2010 May;67(5):469-75. doi: 10.1203/PDR.0b013e3181d68cef.
Conventional temperature measurements rely on material responses to heat, which can be detected visually. When Galileo developed an air expansion based device to detect temperature changes, Santorio, a contemporary physician, added a scale to create the first thermometer. With this instrument, patients' temperatures could be measured, recorded, and related to changing health conditions. Today, advances in materials science and bioengineering provide new ways to report temperature at the molecular level in real time. In this review, the scientific foundations and history of thermometry underpin a discussion of the discoveries emerging from the field of molecular thermometry. Intracellular nanogels and heat sensing biomolecules have been shown to accurately report temperature changes at the nanoscale. Various systems will soon provide the ability to accurately measure temperature changes at the tissue, cellular, and even subcellular level, allowing for detection and monitoring of very small changes in local temperature. In the clinic, this will lead to enhanced detection of tumors and localized infection, and accurate and precise monitoring of hyperthermia-based therapies. Some nanomaterial systems have even demonstrated a theranostic capacity for heat-sensitive, local delivery of chemotherapeutics. Just as early thermometry rapidly moved into the clinic, so too will these molecular thermometers.
传统的温度测量依赖于物质对热量的反应，可以通过肉眼进行检测。当伽利略开发出一种基于空气膨胀的装置来检测温度变化时，同时代的医生桑托里奥在其上添加了一个标尺，从而创造了第一支温度计。有了这个仪器，就可以测量、记录患者的体温，并将其与不断变化的健康状况联系起来。如今，材料科学和生物工程的进步为在分子水平上实时报告温度提供了新方法。在这篇综述中，我们将讨论温度测量的科学基础和历史，以及分子温度测量领域的新发现。细胞内纳米凝胶和热敏生物分子已被证明能够在纳米尺度上准确报告温度变化。各种系统将很快能够准确测量组织、细胞甚至亚细胞水平的温度变化，从而能够检测和监测局部温度的微小变化。在临床上，这将提高对肿瘤和局部感染的检测能力，并能精确监测基于热疗的治疗。一些纳米材料系统甚至已经表现出对热敏感的局部化疗药物的治疗诊断能力。正如早期的温度计迅速进入临床应用一样，这些分子温度计也将如此。
