Thermophysical and biological responses of gold nanoparticle laser heating

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Thermophysical and biological responses of gold nanoparticle laser heating

Zhenpeng Qin^a and John C. Bischof*^abc

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
E-mail: bischof@umn.edu
Fax: +1 612 625 4344
Tel: +1 612 625 5513

^b Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

^c Urologic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

Abstract

A compelling vision in nanomedicine is the use of self directed nanoparticles that can accumulate in areas of disease to perform designed functions, such as molecular delivery or destruction, endosomal release of genes or siRNA, and selective cell or tumor destruction with nano to macroscale spatiotemporal control and precision. These functions are increasingly achieved by gold nanoparticles (GNPs, such as sphere, shell or rod) that can be activated with a laser “switch”. A defining aspect of this “switch” is GNP absorption of laser light and the ensuing heat generation and temperature change that can be confined or propagated through multiple scales from the nanoparticle surface up through bulk biological cells and tissues. In this critical review, we discuss the fundamental mechanisms of laser GNP heat generation, the measurement and modelling of the ensuing thermal response, and a number of the evolving biological applications dependent on this new technology (181 references).

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Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C1CS15184C
Article type: Critical Review
Submitted: 09 Jul 2011
First published: 22 Sep 2011

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Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012,41, 1191-1217

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