Synthesis of silymarin−selenium nanoparticle conjugate and examination of its biological activity in vitro

Silymarin (Sil) was conjugated to selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) to increase Sil bioavailability. The conjugates were monodisperse; the average diameter of the native SeNPs was ~ 20-50 ± 1.5 nm, whereas that of the conjugates was 30-50 ± 0.5 nm. The use of SeNPs to increase the bioavailability of Sil was examined with the MH-22a, EPNT-5, HeLa, Hep-2, and SPEV-2 cell lines. The EPNT-5 (glioblastoma) cells were the most sensitive to the conjugates compared to the conjugate-free control. The conjugates increased the activity of cellular dehydrogenases and promoted the penetration of Sil into the intracellular space. Possibly, SeNPs play the main part in Sil penetration of cells and Sil penetration is not associated with phagocytosis. Thus, SeNPs are promising for use as a Sil carrier and as protective antigens

Gold nanostars as a photoagent under the antimicrobial action of infrared (808 nm) laser radiation

Gold nanostars with an average core diameter of 122,2 nm and a spike length of 114,6 nm were synthesized and characterized at a concentration of 5,36×1010 pcs/ml with an absorption maximum of 840 nm. Gold nanostars were coated with thiolated polyethylene glycol, its amount was about 8×104 molecules per 1 particle and about 4,4×1015 molecules/ml in the colloid. The zeta potential of gold nanostars coated with PEG-SH was −2.3 mV. The combined eff ect of gold nanostars and low-intensity infrared (808 nm) laser radiation on the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus 209 P and Escherichia coli 113-13 has been studied. Incubation of suspensions of microorganisms in the presence of nanoparticles without access to light did not lead to a signifi cant reduction in the number of bacteria. Irradiation for 30 min of bacterial suspensions containing nanoparticles caused the death of 39% of the S. aureus population and 80% of the E. coli population. During the thermometry of the studied suspensions, it was found that the temperature increase is dose-dependent. The increase in temperature of the control samples that did not contain photothermal agents did not exceed 1 °C in both cases throughout the entire time of the experiment. For suspensions of bacteria (equally S. aureus and E. coli) incubated with gold nanostars during irradiation, an increase in temperature indicators, on average, by 4 °C was revealed. The more pronounced antibacterial activity of the combination of gold nanostars and infrared (808 nm) laser radiation against E. coli can also be explained by the greater sensitivity of gram-negative microorganisms to photothermal exposure

Nanosecond laser-induced photomodification of gold nanostars of various sizes

Gold nanostars are one of the new types of nanoparticles with advantages such as plasmon resonance tunability and low toxicity. Therefore, gold nanostars are promising candidates for various biomedical applications including bioimaging, cell optoporation and plasmonic photothermal therapy (PTT) in NIR I, II, and III optical transparency windows of biotissues. However, the stability and possible transformation of gold nanostars under laser irradiation still remains unexplored. In this work, we studied the photomodification of gold nanostars under the 1064-nm nanosecond pulsed laser irradiation by the transmission electron microscopy and spectrophotometry. The photostability of nanostars depends on their morphology and the plasmonic properties. Specifically, for large nanostars with a plasmon resonance at 950 nm remarkable changes occur at a threshold pulse energy of 5 μJ. At this threshold, a significant part of nanostars spikes melts and most of the nanostars start to transform into gold spheres. For higher pulse energies of about 50 μJ, all stars transform into spheres. For smaller gold stars with a plasmon resonance at 680 nm, the changes are less pronounced. Up to pulse energy of 50 μJ, they retain the shape of stars and have spikes on their surface. Moreover, the complete transformation of these stars into spheres does not occur up to pulse energy of about 150 μJ. The obtained results can be important for optimization of PTT treatment with gold nanostars and nanosecond laser irradiation

One-Shot Laser-Pulse Modification of Bare and Silica-Coated Gold Nanoparticles of Various Morphologies

Gold nanoparticles are widely used in laser biomedical applications due to their favorable properties, mainly localized plasmon resonance. However, laser radiation can cause a change in the shape and size of plasmonic nanoparticles, thus resulting in an unwanted reduction of their photothermal and photodynamic efficiency due to a drastic alteration of optical properties. Most previously reported experiments were carried out with bulk colloids where different particles were irradiated by different numbers of laser pulses, thus making it difficult to accurately evaluate the laser power photomodification (PM) threshold. Here, we examine the one-shot nanosecond laser-pulse PM of bare and silica-coated gold nanoparticles moving in a capillary flow. Four types of gold nanoparticles, including nanostars, nanoantennas, nanorods, and SiO2@Au nanoshells, were fabricated for PM experiments. To evaluate the changes in the particle morphology under laser irradiation, we combine measurements of extinction spectra with electron microscopy. A quantitative spectral approach is developed to characterize the laser power PM threshold in terms of normalized extinction parameters. The experimentally determined PM threshold increases in series were as follows: nanorods, nanoantennas, nanoshells, and nanostars. An important observation is that even a thin silica shell significantly increases the photostability of gold nanorods. The developed methods and reported findings can be useful for the optimal design of plasmonic particles and laser irradiation parameters in various biomedical applications of functionalized hybrid nanostructures

Photoemission of Plasmonic Gold Nanostars in Laser-Controlled Electron Current Devices for Technical and Biomedical Applications

The main goal of this work was to modify the previously developed blade-type planar structure using plasmonic gold nanostars in order to stimulate photofield emission and provide efficient laser control of the electron current. Localization and enhancement of the field at the tips of gold nanostars provided a significant increase in the tunneling electron current in the experimental sample (both electrical field and photofield emission). Irradiation at a wavelength in the vicinity of the plasmon resonance (red laser) provided a gain in the photoresponse value of up to 5 times compared to irradiation far from the resonance (green laser). The prospects for transition to regimes of structure irradiation by femtosecond laser pulses at the wavelength of surface plasmon resonance, which lead to an increase in the local optical field, are discussed. The kinetics of the energy density of photoinduced hot and thermalized electrons is estimated. The proposed laser-controlled matrix current source is promising for use in X-ray computed tomography systems

Shape-dependent interaction of gold nanoparticles with cultured cells at laser exposure

Laser optoporation of cells by local heating of plasmonic gold nanoparticles (GNPs) was proven as a favorable delivery method of molecules into cells. The optoporation efficiency depends on the laser beam intensity and GNP properties. Here, we evaluate the membrane optoporation in vitro in terms of fluorescent dye permeability under treatment of a multi-pulsed nanosecond 1064 nm laser with a sharply-focused beam. Anisotropic GNPs, such as nanorods and nanostars, were fabricated to achieve the optimal GNP-cell interaction. Nanostars demonstrated highest optoporation efficacy with more than 80% of permeabilized cells within the illuminated area. By contrast to common laser techniques, the laser beam scanning method results in cell optoporation within a controllable programmed in advance irradiated area

Gold Nanoisland Films as Reproducible SERS Substrates for Highly Sensitive Detection of Fungicides

A wet-chemical approach is used to fabricate centimeter-scale gold nanoisland films (NIFs) with tunable morphology of islands and with strong electromagnetic coupling between them. The approach consists in a uniform seeding of small gold nanoparticles on a glass or silicon substrate, followed by controllable growth of the seeds into small nanoislands. A special technique for TEM sampling was developed to follow the gradual formation of larger-sized isolated nanoparticles, nanoislands of sintered overgrown seeds, and a complete gold layer with nanoscale cracks. The electromagnetic field distribution inside the fabricated NIFs was calculated by FDTD simulations applied to actual TEM images of the fabricated samples rather than to artificial models commonly used. SERS measurements with 1,4-aminothiophenol (ATP) molecules demonstrated the analytical enhancement factor about of 10⁷ and the fundamental enhancement factor about of 10⁸ for optimized substrates. These values were at least 1 order of magnitude higher than that for self-assembled arrays of gold nanostars and silver nanocubes. SERS spectra of independent samples demonstrated good sample-to-sample reproducibility in terms of the relative standard deviation (RSD) of the main peaks less than 20%. Additionally, Raman maps with 1 μm increment in <i>X</i>–<i>Y</i> directions of NIFs (800 spectral spots) demonstrated good point-to-point repeatability in the intensity of the main Raman vibration modes (RSD varied from 5% to 15% for 50 randomly selected points). A real-life application of the fabricated SERS substrates is exemplified by the detection of the thiram fungicide in apple peels within the 5–250 ppb linear detection range. Specifically, the NIF-based SERS technology detected thiram on apple peel down to level of 5 ng/cm²

Värmelagring i berg

Godkänd; 1983; 20070209 (ysko)</p