ABSTRACT
One very prominent example for the exploitation of nanoparticles (NPs) in biomedical applications is their use as vehicle for magnetic hyperthermia treatments of tumours. The procedure is related to the accumulation of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) in the tumour region and the exposure of the target organ to an alternating magnetic field. The method has the advantage that heating is applied interstitially and not from outside the body (e.g. heating with laser, radiofrequency, focused ultrasound, hot air, etc.). The method is minimally-invasive and heating can ideally be localized selectively at the tumour area. In this chapter, we will discuss the present knowledge related to the needed physicochemical NP specifications for magnetic hyperthermia, the impact of heating on target tumour cells, the therapeutic strategies of hyperthermia in vivo, the observed temperature distributions in the tumour region, the feasibility for combination with chemotherapy, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
