  We present the theoretical investigation of the single walled carbon
nanotubes (SWNTs) as the heating agent of photothermal therapy. In our model,
the SWNT is modeled by rigid tube surrounded by cancer cells. In this model, we
neglect the angle dependence of temperature and assume that the length of SWNT
is much longer than the radius of tube. We calculated the temperature rise of
the SWNT and its surrounding cancer cells during the laser heating by solving
one-dimensional heat conduction equation in steady state condition. We found
that the maximum temperature is located at the interface between SWNT and
cancer cells. This maximum temperature is proportional to the square of SWNTs
diameter and diameter of SWNTs depends on their chirality. These results extend
our understanding of the temperature distribution in SWNT during the laser
heating process and provide the suggested specification of SWNT for the
improvement the photothermal therapy in the future.
