Quantitative Analysis of Photothermal Therapy of Tumor Tissue Using Various Gold Nanoparticle Injection Schemes

Photothermal therapy is a new chemotherapy technique using photothermal effects, a phenomenon in which light energy is converted into thermal energy. Since the treatment technique is performed without surgical incision, it does not cause bleeding and patients are expected to make rapid recoveries, which are significant advantages. In this study, photothermal therapy with direct injection of gold nanoparticles into tumor tissue was simulated through numerical modeling. The treatment effect resulting from changing the intensity of the irradiated laser, volume fraction of the injected gold nanoparticles, and number of gold nanoparticle injections was quantitatively evaluated. The discrete dipole approximation method was applied to calculate the optical properties of the entire medium, and the Monte Carlo method was applied to identify the absorption and scattering behavior of lasers in tissue. In addition, by confirming the temperature distribution of the entire medium through the calculated light absorption distribution, the treatment effect of photothermal therapy was evaluated, and the optimal treatment conditions were suggested. This is expected to accelerate the popularization of photothermal therapy in the future.