Date of Award

6-1-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Systems Engineering

First Advisor

Alexandru Biris

Abstract

We have proposed a new nanocomposite consisting of F-127 polymer, AuNR and thermochromic dyes (TCD) which change color when they are heated above a tunable transition temperature. This nanocomposite has been demonstrated to show rapid, reversible and easily detectable color change at the timescales of ~60ms without degradation of any of its constituents which makes it a good candidate for in-vitro and in-vivo studies of thermal ablation treatment for cancer. This nanocomposite makes it possible to overcome one of the major shortcomings of photothermal therapy (PTT) and plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT) by allowing the detection of heating occurring during PPTT to reduce the risk of unintentional thermal damage to healthy tissues alongside cancer cells. In addition to applications in cancer therapy, this material also has potential industrial applications as a component of a remote switching system, laser & radiation safety equipment and low power, ambient light based display systems.

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