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Updated: Apr 28, 2026
Preparation and Photoacoustic Analysis of Cellular Vehicles Containing Gold Nanorods
Published on: May 2, 2016
Gold nanoprisms for photothermal cell ablation in vivo
Alfredo Ambrosone1, Pablo del Pino, Valentina Marchesano
1Istituto di Cibernetica 'E.Caianiello', Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Campi Flegrei, 34, 80078, Pozzuoli, Italy.
Aim:
To develop new methodologies for selective cell ablation in a temporally and spatially precise fashion in model organisms.
Materials & Methods:
living polyps (Hydra vulgaris) treated with gold nanoprisms were near-infrared (NIR) irradiated and the photothermal effects evaluated at whole-animal, cellular and molecular levels.
Results:
Nanoprisms showed good efficiency of internalization in living specimens, with no sign of toxicity; under NIR irradiation they induced cell death and the overexpression of the hsp70 gene.
Conclusion:
gold nanoprisms could be employed as efficient heat mediators in model organisms, and NIR-triggered cell ablation may represent a new advanced tool to study cell function. Solving bioethical and economical issues, invertebrates may provide alternative models bridging the gap between cell research and preclinical studies of photothermal therapy.
