Dual plasmonic gold nanostars for photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy.

AIM: To fabricate multimodal nanoconstruct that act as a single node for photoacoustic imaging (PAI) and photothermal therapy (PTT) in the fight against cancer.

MATERIALS & METHODS: Dual plasmonic gold nanostars (DPGNS) were chemically synthesized by reducing gold precursor using ascorbic acid and silver ions as shape directing agent. PAI and PTT were performed using commonly available 1064 nm laser source on DPGNS embedded tumor xenografts on mice.

RESULTS & CONCLUSION: Photoacoustic amplitude increase with longer wavelength source and with silica coating of DPGNS. The in vivo photothermal capability of DPGNS resulted in a significant decrease in the tumor cellular area. DPGNS exhibited potential for single node diagnosis and therapy with longer wavelength facilitating deeper imaging and therapy.