Optics Express 2010-04-26

Enhanced thermal stability of silica-coated gold nanorods for photoacoustic imaging and image-guided therapy.

Yun-Sheng Chen, Wolfgang Frey, Seungsoo Kim, Kimberly Homan, Pieter Kruizinga, Konstantin Sokolov, Stanislav Emelianov

Index: Opt. Express 18 , 8867-78, (2010)

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Abstract

Photothermal stability and, therefore, consistency of both optical absorption and photoacoustic response of the plasmonic nanoabsorbers is critical for successful photoacoustic image-guided photothermal therapy. In this study, silica-coated gold nanorods were developed as a multifunctional molecular imaging and therapeutic agent suitable for image-guided photothermal therapy. The optical properties and photothermal stability of silica-coated gold nanorods under intense irradiation with nanosecond laser pulses were investigated by UV-Vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Silica-coated gold nanorods showed increased photothermal stability and retained their superior optical properties under much higher fluences. The changes in photoacoustic response of PEGylated and silica-coated nanorods under laser pulses of various fluences were compared. The silica-coated gold nanorods provide a stable photoacoustic signal, which implies better imaging capabilities and make silica-coated gold nanorods a promising imaging and therapeutic nano-agent for photoacoustic imaging and image-guided photothermal therapy.