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Updated: Apr 10, 2026
Plasmonic Photothermal Cancer Therapy: Nanoparticle-embedded Tumor-tissue-mimicking Phantoms for Visualizing Photothermal Temperature Distribution
Published on: May 9, 2025
Surface plasmon-enhanced Ag/CuS nanocomposites for cancer treatment
Chang Yang1, Lun Ma2, Xiaoju Zou2
1Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019-0059 USA ; Department of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430032 China.
Abstract:
Photothermal therapy (PTT) for cancer treatment is the use of heat between 41 and 45 °C to damage cancer cells. As a new type of transducer agent for PTT of cancer, CuS nanoparticles have several advantages. The most favorable features are the low cost, simple, and easy preparation and small size for targeting. However, the CuS nanoparticle PTT efficacy needs to be improved for practical applications. In this study, the CuS nano-PTT efficiency is enhanced via the local field enhancement from Ag nanoparticle surface plasmon coupling. The results show that absorbance of CuS nanoparticles in Ag/CuS nanocomposites is enhanced about four times by Ag nanoparticle surface plasmon coupling. Consequently, the PTT efficacy is enhanced and a power of 0.6 W/cm2 with a 980-nm laser is sufficient for Ag/CuS nano-PTT activation for cancer treatment in vitro observations.
