Hyperthermia devices and their uses with nanoparticles

1. A hyperthermia system comprising:

a hyperthermia apparatus comprising the following elements:

(a) a generator of a radio-frequency electromagnetic field;

(b) an amplifier of a radio-frequency electromagnetic field;

(c) a transmitter of a radio-frequency electromagnetic field; and

(d) a direct temperature measurement system,

wherein the generator of the radio-frequency electromagnetic field is a network analyzer device which, in addition to generating the signal, allows impedances, coefficients of reflection and transmission and insertion losses to be determined;

the transmitter of the electromagnetic field is capable of focusing and concentrating the electromagnetic field in a defined region; and

a plurality of nanoparticles, wherein said nanoparticles are capable of being heated by the action of a radio-frequency electromagnetic field generated by the hyperthermia apparatus.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticles are at least one of metallic and magnetic nanoparticles.

3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticles are functionalized via metal-sulphur bonds with organic molecules or biomolecules.

4. The system according to claim 2 , wherein the nanoparticles are magnetic nanoparticles functionalized directly or functionalized via a coating of noble metal.

5. A method for producing heating and other hyperthermia effects on one or more nanoparticles capable of being heated under the action of a radio-frequency electromagnetic field said method comprising exposing said nanoparticles to heating by a hyperthermia apparatus comprising the following elements:

(a) a generator of a radio-frequency electromagnetic field;

(b) an amplifier of a radio-frequency electromagnetic field;

(c) a transmitter of a radio-frequency electromagnetic field; and

(d) a direct temperature measurement system,

wherein the generator of the radio-frequency electromagnetic field is a network analyzer device which, in addition to generating the signal, allows impedances, coefficients of reflection and transmission and insertion losses to be determined and the transmitter of the electromagnetic field is capable of focusing and concentrating the electromagnetic field in a defined region.

6. A method of heating one or more nanoparticles at a location, wherein the method employs an apparatus which comprises (a) a generator of a radio-frequency electromagnetic field, comprising a network analyzer device which, in addition to generating the signal, allows impedances, coefficients of reflection and transmission and insertion losses to be determined; (b) an amplifier of a radio-frequency electromagnetic field; (c) a transmitter of a radio-frequency electromagnetic field, the transmitter being capable of focusing and concentrating the electromagnetic field in a defined region; and (d) a direct temperature measurement system, the method comprising the steps of:

(i) introducing the nanoparticle at the location; and

(ii) generating a radio-frequency electromagnetic field using the apparatus which has a frequency and/or intensity capable of heating the nanoparticles.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising the step of determining the temperature at the location of the nanoparticles and optionally adjusting the frequency and/or intensity of the radio-frequency electromagnetic field to modulate the hyperthermic heating effect generated by the apparatus.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the location is a tissue of a living subject.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the tissue is tumour tissue and the heating is effective to kill cells of said tumour tissue.

10. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the location is an area of protein aggregates in a subject having amyloidosis and the heating is effective to destroy said protein aggregates.

11. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the location is an area of drug delivery in a subject administered said drug and the heating is effective to control the release of the drug in said subject.

12. The hyperthermia system according to claim 2 , wherein said nanoparticles are functionalized noble-metal nanoparticles.

13. The hyperthermia system according to claim 12 , wherein said noble-metal nanoparticles are functionalized via metal-ligand bonds.

14. The hyperthermia system according to claim 12 , wherein said noble-metal nanoparticles are protected by surfactant molecules with stabilization via dipolar interactions.

15. The hyperthermia system according to claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises a Faraday cage which encloses the elements (a) to (d) of the hyperthermia apparatus for radiation shielding.

16. The hyperthermia system according to claim 1 , wherein the system for directly measuring the temperature uses infrared radiation.

17. The hyperthermia system according to claim 16 , wherein the system for directly measuring the temperature uses a system based on the Seebeck effect.

18. The hyperthermia system according to claim 1 , wherein the system for directly measuring the temperature uses an infrared pyrometer.

19. The heating method according to claim 6 , wherein the hyperthermia apparatus further comprises a Faraday cage which encloses the elements (a) to (d) of the hyperthermia apparatus for radiation shielding.

20. The hyperthermia system according to claim 6 , wherein the system for directly measuring the temperature uses infrared radiation.

21. The hyperthermia system according to claim 6 , wherein the system for directly measuring the temperature uses a system based on the Seebeck effect.

22. The heating method according to claim 6 , wherein the system for directly measuring the temperature uses an infrared pyrometer.