Chemical Sharpening of Gold Nanorods: The Rod-to-Octahedron Transition

Goldnanorods-loaded hydrogel-forming needlesfor local hyperthermia applications: Proof of concept

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of skin cancer and responsible for most of the cancer related morbidities and pose a significant public health concern worldwide. Surgery treatment modality is able to clear the BCC, yet it mostly leads to scar formation. Plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT) which involves using gold nanostructures and near-infrared light to kill the BCC cells by local heating is associated with excellent tissue preservation and healing without scarring. Parenteral administration of such gold nanostructures suffers from off-target delivery and side effects. Delivering such phototherapeutics directly to the BCC proved to be an attractive alternative route of administration yet encountered with penetration limitations due to the stratum corneum (SC) fierce barrier. In the current study, we developed and optimised a novel near-infrared light-responsive hydrogel-forming long needle (HFLN) loaded with Gold nanorods (GNRs) as a potential plasmonic photothermal device for localised treatment of nodular BCC. The HFLN was prepared from Gantrez® S-97 and PEG 200 Da and characterized in terms of swelling, insertion and mechanical properties. GNRs were synthesised and tunned using seed-mediated growth method. The integrated devices developed could revolutionise BCC treatment benefiting both patients and healthcare providers.

Synthesis and optical properties of gold nanorods with controllable morphology

Searching for architectural building blocks with tunable morphology and peculiarity is a prominent challenge for novel diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Here, the aqueous-based seed-mediated methods for preparing highly mono-dispersed Au nanorods with a different aspect ratio are systematically studied by controlling the amounts of Ag ions and seeds. We also explore the effect of pH on the synthesis of gold nanorods. The realization of the overlap of longitudinal plasmon band and excitation source with different degrees is made by changing the aspect ratio of nanorod in order to determine its effect on the overall surface enhancement. In addition, the gold octahedra are prepared by overgrowth on Au nanorods. The SERS effects of Au nanorods are researched and the FDTD simulations are performed to reveal the morphology induced plasmon modes.

In situ tuning of gold nanorod plasmon through oxidative cyanide etching

Single gold nanorods exhibit great opportunities for bio-sensing, enhanced spectroscopies and photothermal therapy. We show how to red-shift the plasmon resonance of single nanorods controllably.

Tweaking anisotropic gold nanostars: covariant control of a polymer–solvent mixture complex

A versatile polymer–binary solvent mixture based tweaking of gold stars enables them as excellent candidates for tunable SERS substrates.

A promising road with challenges: where are gold nanoparticles in translational research?

Nanoenabled technology holds great potential for health issues and biological research. Among the numerous inorganic nanoparticles that are available today, gold nanoparticles are fully developed as therapeutic and diagnostic agents both in vitro and in vivo due to their physicochemical properties. Owing to this, substantial work has been conducted in terms of developing biosensors for noninvasive and targeted tumor diagnosis and treatment. Some studies have even expanded into clinical trials. This article focuses on the fundamentals and synthesis of gold nanoparticles, as well as the latest, most promising applications in cancer research, such as molecular diagnostics, immunosensors, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and bioimaging. Challenges to their further translational development are also discussed.

Shape-controlled synthesis of metal nanocrystals: simple chemistry meets complex physics?

Nanocrystals are fundamental to modern science and technology. Mastery over the shape of a nanocrystal enables control of its properties and enhancement of its usefulness for a given application. Our aim is to present a comprehensive review of current research activities that center on the shape-controlled synthesis of metal nanocrystals. We begin with a brief introduction to nucleation and growth within the context of metal nanocrystal synthesis, followed by a discussion of the possible shapes that a metal nanocrystal might take under different conditions. We then focus on a variety of experimental parameters that have been explored to manipulate the nucleation and growth of metal nanocrystals in solution-phase syntheses in an effort to generate specific shapes. We then elaborate on these approaches by selecting examples in which there is already reasonable understanding for the observed shape control or at least the protocols have proven to be reproducible and controllable. Finally, we highlight a number of applications that have been enabled and/or enhanced by the shape-controlled synthesis of metal nanocrystals. We conclude this article with personal perspectives on the directions toward which future research in this field might take.