Patent ID: 8481082

Claim:
A method of diagnosing and hyperthermally treating cells in a patient without protein denaturation, the method comprising i) introducing a composition comprising an antitumor antibody labeled gold, diamond, platinum, carbon, ferromagnetic, and/or quantum dot nanoparticle and a temperature indicating substance, wherein the nanoparticle forms an antibody labeled nanoparticle-cell complex at a target site, and wherein the temperature indicating substance comprises a first fluorescent dye encapsulated in a first temperature sensitive liposome, and a second fluorescent dye encapsulated in a second temperature sensitive liposome, ii) exposing the target site to an energy source to generate an acoustic signal producing conditions at the target site sufficient to heat the nanoparticle-cell complex to a temperature between about 42° C. to about 50° C. for about 1 minute to 15 minutes to hyperthermally treat cells, wherein the first fluorescent dye is released from the first liposome when heating to a temperature of at least 42° C. but below the protein denaturation temperature to indicate an effective temperature for hyperthermally treating the tissue without releasing the second fluorescent dye from the second liposome, and wherein the second fluorescent dye is released from the second liposome to indicate when a protein denaturation temperature is exceeded iii) measuring the acoustic response produced by the nanoparticles, and iv) determining the presence or absence of malignant cells at the target site based on the nanoparticle acoustic response, wherein the hyperthermal treatment damages or kills cells at the target site.