The role of nanofluids in enhancing thermal management and biomedical applications: A review

Abstract

Nanofluids have emerged as next-generation heat transfer fluids (HTFs) with extraordinary multifunctionality in industries, biomedicine and pharmaceutics. This review provides a detailed and quantitative analysis of recent advances, showing that graphene oxide-based nanofluids enhance thermal conductivity by up to 76.8 %, while Fe2O3 water and Al2O3 Nanofluids deliver 9-40 % enhancements in heat transfer coefficients under practical conditions. Beyond thermal performance, nanofluids demonstrate antimicrobial and anti-biofilm properties critical for medicinal devices sterilisation and drug delivery. Moreover, a key novelty of this review lies in its integration of thermal performance metrics with advanced computational innovations, comprising AI-enhanced CFD models that achieve R-2 similar to 0.99 predictive accuracy and similar to 98 % reduction in computational time. Further, it addresses green synthesis approaches, stimuli-responsive formulations, and remaining challenges in the realm of biocompatibility and toxicity; it uniquely bridges thermal engineering, biomedical nanotechnology and intelligent modelling. Overall, it offers a forward-looking roadmap for designing sustainable, efficient and clinically relevant multifunctional nanofluids, as a valuable resource for both industrial and biomedical advancement.