Abstract
Due to their well-defined plasmonic properties, gold nanorods (GNRs) can be fabricated with optimal light absorption in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, which make them suitable for cancer-related theranostic applications. However, their controversial safety profile, as a result of surfactant stabilization during synthesis, limits their clinical translation. We report a facile method to improve GNR biocompatibility through the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). GNRs (120 × 40 nm) were synthesized through a seed-mediated approach, using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a cationic surfactant to direct the growth of nanorods and stabilize the particles. Post-synthesis, SDS was used as an exchange ligand to modify the net surface charge of the particles from positive to negative while maintaining rod stability in an aqueous environment. GNR cytotoxic effects, as well as the mechanisms of their cellular uptake, were examined in two different cancer cell lines, Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) and HeLa cells. We not only found a significant dose-dependent effect of GNR treatment on cell viability but also a time-dependent effect of GNR surfactant charge on cytotoxicity over the two cell lines. Our results promote a better understanding of how we can mediate the undesired consequences of GNR synthesis byproducts when exposed to a living organism, which so far has limited GNR use in cancer theranostics.
Highlights
As a result of their geometry-dependent, unique surface plasmon properties, gold nanorods (GNRs) have revealed great potential in applications involving imaging, therapy, and biological sensing [1,2,3,4,5]
sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) has been chosen as anionic surfactant to overcoat the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) bilayer on the GNRs
The GNR longitudinal and transversal dimensions were estimated from the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images using Matlab images
Summary
As a result of their geometry-dependent, unique surface plasmon properties, gold nanorods (GNRs) have revealed great potential in applications involving imaging, therapy, and biological sensing [1,2,3,4,5]. [13,14,15] GNRs have a higher light absorption coefficient in the near-infrared (NIR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum (600–900 nm) [16,17,18] This characteristic permits a broad range of innovative applications where GNRs can be employed as a multifunctional NIR light-mediated platform. GNRs act as excellent contrast agents for photoacoustic imaging with long-lasting photothermal stability [21,22] during nanosecond-pulsed NIR laser illumination. This NIR-absorption property has been investigated for singleparticle level detection showing that GNRs can be used as small probes for early cancer diagnosis [23,24]
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