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Gold nanostructures that can be synthetically articulated to adapt diverse morphologies, offer a versatile platform and tunable properties for applications in a variety of areas, including biomedicine and diagnostics. Among several conformational architectures, gold nanoshells provide a highly advantageous combination of properties that can be fine-tuned in designing single or multi-purpose nanomaterials, especially for applications in biology. So, what other details about gole nanoshells do you know?
- Who discovered nanoshells?
The discovery of the nanoshell was made by Professor Naomi J. Halas and her team at Rice University in 2003. When she and her team discovered nanoshells, they weren’t initially sure what potential such nanoshells held.
- What is the size of a Nanoshell?
A nanoshell is a spherical (concentric) core of the particular compound, it is also called a core-shells. The size of a nanoshell is 1–20 nm and is fabricated by semiconductors (dielectric materials) like silica, polystyrene, metals, and insulators. These materials are highly stable.
- How do nanoshells work?
A nanoshell uses surface plasmon resonance, or a wave-like excitation of electrons along the surface, to convert laser light into heat. Because nanoshells are metallic on the outside and small in size, the laser light interacts with the shell, causing surface plasmon resonance.
- What are nanoshells used for?
Nanoshells are spherical particles consisting of a dielectric core surrounded by a thin metallic shell, most commonly gold. Because of their optical and chemical properties, these particles have been used for biomedical imaging and cancer treatment.
- Why nanoshells can be used for thermal ablation of cancer cells?
The nanoshell can be stimulated with infrared light in which the nanoshell absorbs the energy of the light and consequently generates heat. Through this mechanism, nanoshells have a potential photothermal therapeutic ability to destroy bacteria and tumor cells.
- How do you make gold nanoshells?
Hollow gold nanoshells were developed via galvanic replacement reaction between silver nanoparticles and HAuCl4 solution. Hollow gold nanoparticles synthesized by this method could be easily further functionalized with small organic molecules or macro-biomolecules.
About the author
As a provider of a comprehensive list of coated, functional and conjugated gold nanoparticles, CD Bioparticles now offers DiagNano™ gold nanoshells with surface plasmon resonant (SPR) absorption at 660, 800 and 980 nm for global scientists. Our DiagNano™ gold nanoshells consist of a nanoscale silica core coated by a thin gold shell, and can be widely used in optical imaging, sensor, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), drug delivery and photothermal therapy.
References
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Shanbhag, P. P., Iyer, V., & Shetty, T. (2017). Gold nanoshells: a ray of hope in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Nucl Med Biol Imag, 2(2), 1-5.
Muthuraman, A., Rishitha, N., & Mehdi, S. (2018). Role of nanoparticles in bioimaging, diagnosis and treatment of cancer disorder. In Design of nanostructures for theranostics applications (pp. 529-562). William Andrew Publishing.