Is intracellular hyperthermia superior to extracellular hyperthermia in the thermal sense?

Abstract

More than 20 years ago, it was hypothesized that intracellular hyperthermia is superior to extracellular hyperthermia. It was further hypothesized that even a single biological cell containing magnetic nanoparticles can be treated for hyperthermia by an AC magnetic field, independent of its surrounding cells. Since experimental investigation of the thermal effects of intracellular hyperthermia is not feasible, these hypotheses have been studied theoretically. The current report shows that nano-scale heating effects are negligible. This study further shows that intracellular heat generation is sufficient to create the necessary conditions for hyperthermia only in a large group of cells loaded with nanoparticles, having an overall diameter of at least 1mm. It is argued in this report that there is no reason to believe that intracellular hyperthermia is superior to extracellular hyperthermia in the thermal sense.