Issue 37, 2022

A nanoarchitecture of a gold cluster conjugated gold nanorod hybrid system and its application in fluorescence imaging and plasmonic photothermal therapy

Abstract

Engineering different nanomaterials into a single functional material can impart unique properties of the parental nanoparticles, especially in the field of bio imaging and therapy. Gold nanomaterials having different sizes, shapes and dimensionalities exhibit exceptional properties apart from their non-toxicity and hence are strong candidates in the biomedical field. Designing a hybrid nanomaterial of two gold nanostructures retaining the individual properties of the parental nanomaterials is challenging. Here, we demonstrate the synthesis of a hybrid nanomaterial (GQC@GNR), comprising an extremely small gold nanocluster and a representative of the asymmetric gold nanostructure, i.e., a gold nanorod, both having their own different exclusive optical properties like tuneable emission and NIR absorption characteristics, respectively. The hybrid system is designed to retain its emission and absorption in the NIR region to use it as an agent for simultaneous imaging and therapy. The formation of GQC@GNR and its architectonics heavily depend on the synthesis route and the parameters adopted which in turn have a direct influence on its properties. The architecture and its connection to the optical properties are explained using UV-Vis absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy, zeta potential, transmission electron microscopy, etc. DFT-based computational modelling supports architectonics as explained by the experimental findings. The formation of the gold–gold hybrid system witnessed interesting science with a strong indication that materials with desired properties can be designed by appropriately modulating the architectonics of hybrid formation. Finally, folate conjugated GQC@GNR demonstrated its efficacy for targeted imaging and photothermal therapy in HeLa cells and tumor-bearing animal models. The detailed therapeutic efficacy of GQC@GNR is also explained based on Raman spectroscopy.

Graphical abstract: A nanoarchitecture of a gold cluster conjugated gold nanorod hybrid system and its application in fluorescence imaging and plasmonic photothermal therapy

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 Jūn. 2022
Accepted
18 Aug. 2022
First published
19 Aug. 2022

Nanoscale, 2022,14, 13561-13569

A nanoarchitecture of a gold cluster conjugated gold nanorod hybrid system and its application in fluorescence imaging and plasmonic photothermal therapy

R. V. Nair, M. F. Puthiyaparambath, R. Chatanathodi, L. V. Nair and R. S. Jayasree, Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 13561 DOI: 10.1039/D2NR03163A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements