PLASMONIC PARTICLES FOR INTEGRATION IN FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS AND DEVICES
Fulvio Ratto1,*, Sonia Centi1, Lucia Cavigli1, Boris Khlebtsov2, Claudio Sangregorio3, Nikolai Khlebtsov2, Roberto Pini1
1 Istituto di Fisica Applicata Nello Carrara, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
2 Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants and Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences, 13 Prospekt Entuziastov, Saratov 410049, Russia
3 Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organo Metallici, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
*f.ratto@ifac.cnr.it
Abstract
Applications at the crossroads of photo-thermics or acoustics and plasmonics have aroused much interest at the forefront of biomedical optics. In particular, the use of plasmonic particles as a contrast agent for photothermal treatments and photoacoustic imaging is perceived as a potential breakthrough in contexts as critical as oncology. What is usually envisioned is a smart particulate capable to combine sharp plasmonic features to an outstanding variety of bio-chemo-physical assets needed for systemic delivery. However, such an ambitious objective is still out of touch with reality. Here, we discuss, by means of examples, our concept to streamline the introduction of noble-metal particles as photo-thermal and acoustic transducers for biomedical applications.
The first example relates to the same use in oncology. However, rather than exposing the noble-metal particles to the overwhelming complexity of a full body, we propose their integration into bionic vehicles made of immune-system or stem cells that exhibit an intrinsic tropism to the tumor microenvironment. We believe that the simplification brought by this approach may free up substantial room for the optimization of the contrast agent and the pursuit of multimodality. In any case, the clinical use of noble-metal particles still collides with regulatory limitations. In another example, we exploit the photo-thermal and acoustic features of these particles in alternative contexts. In particular, we discuss our design of a non-contact photothermal actuator and photoacoustic thermometer for remote control of a bioreactor for ultrafast amplification of a genetic target.
Finally, with less distress over its systemic delivery, we present different directions to enhance the performance of the contrast agent in terms of efficiency and stability of optical absorbance.
We are confident that our work will provide inspiration for innovative devices and applications based on photothermics, photoacoustics and plasmonics.
Speaker
Fulvio Ratto
CNR
Italy
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