Collective Plasmon Coupling in Gold Nanoparticle Clusters for Highly Efficient Photothermal Therapy

Abstract

Plasmonic nanomaterials with strong absorption at near-infrared frequencies are promising photothermal therapy agents (PTAs). The pursuit of high photothermal conversion efficiency has been the central focus of this research field. Here, we report the development of plasmonic nanoparticle clusters (PNCs) as highly efficient PTAs and provide a semiquantitative approach for calculating their resonant frequency and absorption efficiency by combining the effective medium approximation (EMA) theory and full-wave electrodynamic simulations. Guided by the theoretical prediction, we further develop a universal strategy of space-confined seeded growth to prepare various PNCs. Under optimized growth conditions, we achieve a record photothermal conversion efficiency of up to ∼84% for gold-based PNCs, which is attributed to the collective plasmon-coupling-induced near-unity absorption efficiency. We further demonstrate the extraordinary photothermal therapy performance of the optimized PNCs in in vivo application. Our work demonstrates the high feasibility and efficacy of PNCs as nanoscale PTAs.

Recent Progress in Nanostructured Smart Drug Delivery Systems for Cancer Therapy: A Review

“…Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) functionalized with a specific anticancer agent can effectively destroy cancer cells. 213,214 Due to the unparallelled properties such as absorption and efficient transport, gold nanoparticles can be used in a variety of anticancer therapies. 215,216 Anticancer therapies of AuNP include photothermal therapy (PTT), radiofrequency therapy, and drug delivery applications.…”

“…Gold and silver nanoparticles have been used in a wide range of pharmacological applications and cancer drug delivery systems due to their inertness, stability, low cytotoxicity, and biocompatibility. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) functionalized with a specific anticancer agent can effectively destroy cancer cells. , Due to the unparallelled properties such as absorption and efficient transport, gold nanoparticles can be used in a variety of anticancer therapies. , …”

Optimization of Photothermal Therapy Treatment Effect under Various Laser Irradiation Conditions

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Rational Design of Chemical Catalysis for Plastic Recycling

“…Expanding the use of advanced recycling technologies is a promising approach to tackle the immense and urgent challenge of plastic wastes. ,, The meaning of the design and optimization of catalysis is not only to promote plastic degradation efficiency but also to provide more suitable and low-cost catalytic system for industry. In addition to the already industrialized thermocatalytic technology, the emerging photothermal, electro- and photocatalysis are expected to degrade plastic efficiently under mild conditions with lower energy consumptions and CO 2 emissions. − However, the tandem catalytic system is also an efficient strategy to boost the degradation efficiency by another catalytic reaction. ,, The tandem systems can upcycle the waste plastic into various value-added products according to different reactions, which are an important future direction for plastic recycling. In general, we propose the use of recycling efficiency, energy consumption, carbon emissions, ease of recycling, and profit as a comprehensive rubric to evaluate new technologies.…”