Abstract
Photothermal therapy (PTT) takes advantage of unique properties of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) (nanospheres, nanoshells (AuNSs), nanorods (AuNRs)) to destroy cancer cells or tumor tissues. This is made possible thanks principally to both to the so-called near-infrared biological transparency window, characterized by wavelengths falling in the range 700–1100 nm, where light has its maximum depth of penetration in tissue, and to the efficiency of cellular uptake mechanisms of AuNPs. Consequently, the possible identification of intracellular AuNPs plays a key role for estimating the effectiveness of PTT treatments. Here, we review the recognized detection techniques of such intracellular probes with a special emphasis to the exploitation of near-infrared biological transparency window.
Highlights
Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a non-invasive treatment for the therapy for many diseases, in a special manner, for cancer treatment [1]
The use of nanoparticles in medicine is a key application requiring many multidisciplinary The use of nanoparticles in medicine is a key application requiring many multidisciplinary the immediate future, to all the materials used in cancer treatments new smart functionalities will be added in order to make them more effective in their interaction with both sick and healthy cells [93,94]
The use of nanoparticles in medicine is a key application requiring many multidisciplinary efforts ranging from nanotechnology to material chemistry and biophysics
Summary
Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a non-invasive treatment for the therapy for many diseases, in a special manner, for cancer treatment [1]. In NP-mediated PTT cancer treatments, NPs heat up cancerous cells beyond their temperature tolerance limits, which are lower than normal healthy tissue due to their poor blood supply, killing them selectively This can be achieved by exposing the entire patient or the targeted area to an alternating current magnetic field, an intense light source or radiofrequencies, which will cause the NPs to heat up and induce thermal ablation of the tumor. Photothermal microscopy is a technique exploiting two overlapping laser beams, one that triggers localized small variations of temperature (approximately 1–2 ◦ C) in presence of nano-absorbers, and the other detects possible changes in temperature [33] In living cells, this technique is able to detect 5 nm AuNPs [34] and 10 nm × 6 nm AuNRs [35]. The theranostics employment of non-metal materials in PTT is briefly described
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