Photothermal properties of inorganic nanomaterials as therapeutic agents for cancer thermotherapy.

In recent years, gold (Au) nanoparticles (NPs) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have attracted significant attention as potent therapeutic agents for cancer thermotherapy. In this paper the photothermal properties of inorganic nanomaterials including porous silicon (PSi), titania (TiO2) nanotubes (NTs), TiO2 NPs, and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), Au NPs and SWCNTs have been systematically investigated. PSi shows by far the largest temperature rise (deltaT), TiO2 NTs the second largest deltaT, and MWCNTs the smallest deltaT upon exposure to near-infrared (NIR) laser. The high photothermal effect of PSi has been found to be attributed to the high absorbance and the high surface-to-volume ratio due to the numerous micropores in PSi In addition, the factors affecting the photothermal effects of nanomaterials have been discussed. Our results suggest that PSi and TiO2 NTs are also potential therapeutic agents for cancer thermotherapy with excellent photothermal properties as well as high biocompatibility.