Relaxation time diagram for identifying heat generation mechanisms in magnetic fluid hyperthermia

Abstract

We present a versatile diagram to envisage the dominant relaxation mechanism of single-domain magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) under alternating magnetic fields, as those used in magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH). The diagram allows estimating the heating efficiency, measured by the Specific Power Absorption (SPA), originated in the magnetic and viscous relaxation times of single-domain MNPs for a given frequency of the ac magnetic field (AFM). The diagram has been successfully applied to different colloids, covering a wide variety of MNPs with different magnetic anisotropy and particle size, and dispersed in different viscous liquid carriers. From the general diagram, we derived a specific chart based on the Linear Response Theory in order to easily estimate the experimental condition for the optimal SPA values of most colloids currently used in MFH.