A wearable hyperthermia device that allows for tumor treatment without interfering with daily activities is of clinical and social significance. However, the wide adaptation of local hyperthermia from such wearable devices in clinical practice has been hindered mainly due to several critical challenges in existing hyperthermia devices, such as the contradiction of high electrical conductivity and high optical transparency of the device while in a thin, deformable format. Here a soft, skin-mountable, hyperthermia patch (HTP) is reported with unusual optical and electrical characteristics based on unidirectional silver nanofibers (AgNFs) network with low-voltage operation and uniform heating even under mechanical deformation. The patch presents both high electrical conductivity and highly optical transparency simultaneously thus allowing real time inspection of the subcutaneous tumor treatment and skin response during the treatment. The unidirectional nature of the AgNFs network renders the key features of high optical transparency, low electrical resistivity, excellent electrothermal performances, and mechanical deformability. Effective treatment of subcutaneous tumors in mice is demonstrated with the skin worn HTP while the skin response is visually tracked. Systematic studies reveal the physiological mechanisms of Notch signaling in inducing tumor cell apoptosis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.