Mostafa A. El-Sayed

Noble Metals on the Nanoscale: Optical and Photothermal Properties and Some Applications in Imaging, Sensing, Biology, and Medicine

Noble metal nanostructures attract much interest because of their unique properties, including large optical field enhancements resulting in the strong scattering and absorption of light. The enhancement in the optical and photothermal properties of noble metal nanoparticles arises from resonant oscillation of their free electrons in the presence of light, also known as localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). The plasmon resonance can either radiate light (Mie scattering), a process that finds great utility in optical and imaging fields, or be rapidly converted to heat (absorption); the latter mechanism of dissipation has opened up applications in several new areas. The ability to integrate metal nanoparticles into biological systems has had greatest impact in biology and biomedicine. In this Account, we discuss the plasmonic properties of gold and silver nanostructures and present examples of how they are being utilized for biodiagnostics, biophysical studies, and medical therapy. For instance, taking advantage of the strong LSPR scattering of gold nanoparticles conjugated with specific targeting molecules allows the molecule-specific imaging and diagnosis of diseases such as cancer. We emphasize in particular how the unique tunability of the plasmon resonance properties of metal nanoparticles through variation of their size, shape, composition, and medium allows chemists to design nanostructures geared for specific bio-applications. We discuss some interesting nanostructure geometries, including nanorods, nanoshells, and nanoparticle pairs, that exhibit dramatically enhanced and tunable plasmon resonances, making them highly suitable for bio-applications. Tuning the nanostructure shape (e.g., nanoprisms, nanorods, or nanoshells) is another means of enhancing the sensitivity of the LSPR to the nanoparticle environment and, thereby, designing effective biosensing agents. Metal nanoparticle pairs or assemblies display distance-dependent plasmon resonances as a result of field coupling. A universal scaling model, relating the plasmon resonance frequency to the interparticle distance in terms of the particle size, becomes potentially useful for measuring nanoscale distances (and their changes) in biological systems. The strong plasmon absorption and photothermal conversion of gold nanoparticles has been exploited in cancer therapy through the selective localized photothermal heating of cancer cells. For nanorods or nanoshells, the LSPR can be tuned to the near-infrared region, making it possible to perform in vivo imaging and therapy. The examples of the applications of noble metal nanostructures provided herein can be readily generalized to other areas of biology and medicine because plasmonic nanomaterials exhibit great range, versatility, and systematic tunability of their optical attributes.

Why gold nanoparticles are more precious than pretty gold: Noble metal surface plasmon resonance and its enhancement of the radiative and nonradiative properties of nanocrystals of different shapes

This tutorial review presents an introduction to the field of noble metal nanoparticles and their current applications. The origin of the surface plasmon resonance and synthesis procedures are described. A number of applications are presented that take advantage of the electromagnetic field enhancement of the radiative properties of noble metal nanoparticles resulting from the surface plasmon oscillations.

Shape-Controlled Synthesis of Colloidal Platinum Nanoparticles

The shapes and sizes of platinum nanoparticles were controlled by changes in the ratio of the concentration of the capping polymer material to the concentration of the platinum cations used in the reductive synthesis of colloidal particles in solution at room temperature. Tetrahedral, cubic, irregular-prismatic, icosahedral, and cubo-octahedral particle shapes were observed, whose distribution was dependent on the concentration ratio of the capping polymer material to the platinum cation. Controlling the shape of platinum nanoparticles is potentially important in the field of catalysis.

Shape and size dependence of radiative, non-radiative and photothermal properties of gold nanocrystals

Driven by the search for new materials with interesting and unique properties and also by the fundamental question of how atomic and molecular physical behaviour develops with increasing size, the field of nanoparticle research has grown immensely in the last two decades. Partially for these reasons, colloidal solutions of metallic (especially silver and gold) nanoparticles have long fascinated scientists because of their very intense colours. The intense red colour of colloidal gold nanoparticles is due to their surface plasmon absorption. This article describes the physical origin of the surface plasmon absorption in gold nanoparticles with emphasis on the Mie and also the Maxwell-Garnett theory and reviews the effects of particle size and shape on the resonance condition. A better understanding of the relationship between the optical absorption spectrum (in particular, the plasmon resonance) and such particle properties as its dimensions or surrounding environment can prove fruitful for the use of the plasmon absorption as an analytical tool. The plasmon resonance has also had a great impact on the Raman spectrum of surface-adsorbed molecules and a large enhancement of the fluorescence quantum yield of gold nanorods is observed. Furthermore, following the changes in the plasmon absorption induced by excitation (heating) with ultrashort laser pulses allows one to monitor the electron dynamics (electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions) in real time, which is important in understanding such fundamental questions regarding the thermal and electrical conductivity of these nanoparticles. Very intense heating with laser pulses leads to structural changes of the nanoparticles (nuclear rearrangements in the form of melting and fragmentation).

Plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT) using gold nanoparticles

The use of lasers, over the past few decades, has emerged to be highly promising for cancer therapy modalities, most commonly the photothermal therapy method, which employs light absorbing dyes for achieving the photothermal damage of tumors, and the photodynamic therapy, which employs chemical photosensitizers that generate singlet oxygen that is capable of tumor destruction. However, recent advances in the field of nanoscience have seen the emergence of noble metal nanostructures with unique photophysical properties, well suited for applications in cancer phototherapy. Noble metal nanoparticles, on account of the phenomenon of surface plasmon resonance, possess strongly enhanced visible and near-infrared light absorption, several orders of magnitude more intense compared to conventional laser phototherapy agents. The use of plasmonic nanoparticles as highly enhanced photoabsorbing agents has thus introduced a much more selective and efficient cancer therapy strategy, viz. plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT). The synthetic tunability of the optothermal properties and the bio-targeting abilities of the plasmonic gold nanostructures make the PPTT method furthermore promising. In this review, we discuss the development of the PPTT method with special emphasis on the recent in vitro and in vivo success using gold nanospheres coupled with visible lasers and gold nanorods and silica–gold nanoshells coupled with near-infrared lasers.

Gold Nanorods: From Synthesis and Properties to Biological and Biomedical Applications

Noble metal nanoparticles are capable of confining resonant photons in such a manner as to induce coherent surface plasmon oscillation of their conduction band electrons, a phenomenon leading to two important properties. Firstly, the confinement of the photon to the nanoparticles dimensions leads to a large increase in its electromagnetic field and consequently great enhancement of all the nanoparticles radiative properties, such as absorption and scattering. Moreover, by confining the photons wavelength to the nanoparticles small dimensions, there exists enhanced imaging resolving powers, which extend well below the diffraction limit, a property of considerable importance in potential device applications. Secondly, the strongly absorbed light by the nanoparticles is followed by a rapid dephasing of the coherent electron motion in tandem with an equally rapid energy transfer to the lattice, a process integral to the technologically relevant photothermal properties of plasmonic nanoparticles. Of all the possible nanoparticle shapes, gold nanorods are especially intriguing as they offer strong plasmonic fields while exhibiting excellent tunability and biocompatibility. We begin this review of gold nanorods by summarizing their radiative and nonradiative properties. Their various synthetic methods are then outlined with an emphasis on the seed-mediated chemical growth. In particular, we describe nanorod spontaneous self-assembly, chemically driven assembly, and polymer-based alignment. The final section details current studies aimed at applications in the biological and biomedical fields.

Gold nanoparticles: interesting optical properties and recent applications in cancer diagnostics and therapy

Recent years have seen tremendous progress in the design and study of nanomaterials geared towards biological and biomedical applications, most notable among these being the noble metal nanoparticles. In this review, we outline the surface-plasmon resonance-enhanced optical properties of colloidal gold nanoparticles directed towards recent biomedical applications with an emphasis on cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. Methods of molecular-specific diagnostics/detection of cancer, including strongly enhanced surface plasmon resonance light-scattering, surface-enhanced emission of gold nanorods and surface-enhanced Raman scattering, are described. We also discuss the plasmonic photothermal therapy of cancer achieved by using the strongly enhanced surface-plasmon resonance absorption of gold nanospheres and nanorods.

Au nanoparticles target cancer

Nanoparticles with unique optical properties, facile surface chemistry, and appropriate size scale are generating much enthusiasm in molecular biology and medicine. Noble metal, especially Au, nanoparticles have immense potential for cancer diagnosis and therapy on account of their surface plasmon resonance (SPR) enhanced light scattering and absorption. Conjugation of Au nanoparticles to ligands specifically targeted to biomarkers on cancer cells allows molecular-specific imaging and detection of cancer. Additionally, Au nanoparticles efficiently convert the strongly absorbed light into localized heat, which can be exploited for the selective laser photothermal therapy of cancer. We discuss recent advances in the study and use of selectively targeted Au nanospheres in cancer photodiagnostics and photothermal therapy. By changing the shape or composition of Au nanoparticles, the SPR can be tuned to the near-infrared region, allowing in vivo imaging and photothermal therapy of cancer. The use of Au nanorods and silica-Au core-shell nanoparticles for in vivo cancer detection and therapy is discussed.

Gold nanorod assisted near-infrared plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT) of squamous cell carcinoma in mice

Plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT) is a minimally-invasive oncological treatment strategy in which photon energy is selectively administered and converted into heat sufficient to induce cellular hyperthermia. The present work demonstrates the feasibility of in vivo PPTT treatment of deep-tissue malignancies using easily-prepared plasmonic gold nanorods and a small, portable, inexpensive near-infrared (NIR) laser. Dramatic size decreases in squamous cell carcinoma xenografts were observed for direct (P<0.0001) and intravenous (P<0.0008) administration of pegylated gold nanorods in nu/nu mice. Inhibition of average tumor growth for both delivery methods was observed over a 13-day period, with resorption of >57% of the directly-injected tumors and 25% of the intravenously-treated tumors.

Spin—Orbit Coupling and the Radiationless Processes in Nitrogen Heterocyclics

The matrix elements of the spin—orbit operator between the zero‐order (spin‐free) (n, π*) states of nitrogen heterocyclics are examined. It is found that generally, to the first order, there is no spin—orbit coupling between singlet and triplet states of the same configuration. The coupling between states of different configurations due to differences in the occupancy of the π* orbitals, but having the same nonbonding orbital, is found to have matrix elements similar to those resulting from the coupling between (π, π*) states, which McClure has shown to be unimportant. For the diazines (or polyazines), the coupling between different configurations due to a different occupancy of the nonbonding orbitals is found to have matrix elements which cancel one another. The general conclusion is thus reached that spin—orbit (s.o.) coupling between singlet and triplet (n, π*) states is unimportant to the first order. Using the observed polarization and lifetime data, it is estimated that the ratio |〈S(n,π*)|Hs.o.|T(...