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Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Fabrication and Testing of Photonic Thermometers
Published on: October 24, 2018
A carbon-wrapped nanoscaled thermometer for temperature control in biological environments
Anastasia Vyalikh1, Anja U B Wolter, Silke Hampel
1Leibniz-Institute for Solid State and Materials Research, IFW Dresden, 01171 Dresden, Germany.
Aims:
A carbon-wrapped nanoscaled thermometer for a contactless temperature control in biological systems on the cellular level is presented.
Materials & Methods:
The thermometer is based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) filled with materials with strongly temperature-dependent nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) parameters. The NMR frequency shift and relaxation time were measured in cuprous-iodide-filled CNTs at different temperatures.
Results:
The experimental data indicate a pronounced temperature dependence of the NMR parameters, thereby realizing the nanoscaled thermometer.
Conclusion:
This study is a proof-of-concept that the functionalized CNTs can be used as a contactless thermometer in biomedical applications.
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