Abstract
The unique photothermal properties of non-spherical gold nanoparticles under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation find broad application in nanotechnology and nanomedicine. The combination of their plasmonic features with widely used biocompatible poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) films can lead to novel hybrid polymeric materials with tunable photothermal properties and a wide range of applications. In this study, thin PVA films containing highly photothermally efficient gold nanostars (GNSs) were fabricated and their properties were studied. The resulting films displayed good mechanical properties and a pronounced photothermal effect under NIR irradiation. The local photothermal effect triggered by NIR irradiation of the PVA-GNS films is highly efficient at killing bacteria, therefore providing an opportunity to develop new types of protective antibacterial films and coatings.
Highlights
The photothermal properties of non-spherical gold nanoparticles possessing localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) located in NIR range has already been explored in numerous studies to eradicate cancer cells, controlled drug delivery and enhancement of cell growth [1,2,3,4,5]
gold nanostars (GNSs) were synthesized via a seed-growth technique in the presence of a non-ionic surfactant, Triton X-100, according to a well-established protocol reported by our group previously [24]
Different from the GNSs obtained using the zwitterionic lauryl sulfobetaine (LSB) in the seed-growth synthesis that display NIR LSPR in the 750–1000 nm range [6], these GNSs display two intense tunable NIR LSPR peaks in the 600–900 nm and 1100–1600 nm ranges [24]
Summary
The photothermal properties of non-spherical gold nanoparticles possessing localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) located in NIR range has already been explored in numerous studies to eradicate cancer cells, controlled drug delivery and enhancement of cell growth [1,2,3,4,5]. PVA films containing five-branched gold nanostars, synthesized via a seed-growth method as previously reported [24], were fabricated.
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