One-pot synthesis of gold nanorods using binary surfactant systems with improved monodispersity, dimensional tunability and plasmon resonance scattering properties

Synthesis of anisotropic gold nanoparticles in binary surfactant mixtures: a review on mechanisms of particle formation

Gold nanoparticles are promising candidates for a wide spectrum of biomedical applications ranging from diagnostics and sensors to therapeutics. Their plasmonic properties are dependent on their size and shape among other factors, which can be controlled by understanding various growth mechanisms. Since the breakthrough of the seed-mediated growth approach reported in 2001, the scientific community has actively engaged in the synthesis of tailored anisotropic gold nanoparticles. Surfactants are known for their shape-controlling abilities and since Nikoobakht and El-Sayed in 2003 used a binary surfactant mixture, this method has been adopted as a common synthesis strategy. A wide range of particle shapes have been produced in binary surfactant mixtures using different synthesis approaches, and different working mechanisms have been proposed. This calls for a thorough and critical evaluation of the synthetic methods with an aim to bridge the link between the use of binary surfactants and the control of morphology of anisotropic gold nanoparticles. This review gives a systematic overview of experimental procedures using binary surfactant mixtures to produce gold nanoparticles with tuned properties. The resulting shapes include gold nanorods, bipyramids, tetrahexahedra, and other anisotropic structures. Different mechanisms proposed based on experimental, simulation and modelling analyses are discussed based on the type of binary surfactant systems. Current challenges that need to be addressed and future prospects that may open up new avenues of applications for anisotropic gold nanoparticles are also discussed.

Automated Gold Nanorod Spectral Morphology Analysis Pipeline

The development of a colloidal synthesis procedure to produce nanomaterials with high shape and size purity is often a time-consuming, iterative process. This is often due to quantitative uncertainties in the required reaction conditions and the time, resources, and expertise intensive characterization methods required for quantitative determination of nanomaterial size and shape. Absorption spectroscopy is often the easiest method for colloidal nanomaterial characterization. However, due to the lack of a reliable method to extract nanoparticle shapes from absorption spectroscopy, it is generally treated as a more qualitative measure for metal nanoparticles. This work demonstrates a gold nanorod (AuNR) spectral morphology analysis tool, called AuNR-SMA, which is a fast and accurate method to extract quantitative structural information from colloidal AuNR absorption spectra. To demonstrate the practical utility of this model, we apply it to three distinct applications. First, we demonstrate this model's utility as an automated analysis tool in a high-throughput AuNR synthesis procedure by generating quantitative size information from optical spectra. Second, we use the predictions generated by this model to train a machine learning model to predict the resulting AuNR size distributions under specified reaction conditions. Third, we apply this model to spectra extracted from the literature where no size distributions are reported and impute unreported quantitative information on AuNR synthesis. This approach can potentially be extended to any other nanocrystal system where absorption spectra are size dependent, and accurate numerical simulation of absorption spectra is possible. In addition, this pipeline could be integrated into automated synthesis apparatuses to provide interpretable data from simple measurements, help explore the synthesis science of nanoparticles in a rational manner, or facilitate closed-loop workflows.

Resveratrol-coated gold nanorods produced by green synthesis with activity against Candida albicans

Candida albicans is an opportunistic yeast capable of causing a wide range of mucosal, cutaneous, and systemic infections. However, therapeutic strategies are limited to a few antifungal agents. Inorganic nanoparticles have been investigated as carrier systems for antifungals as potential new treatments. In this study, we focused on the antifungal activity of gold nanorods, a specific rod-shaped gold nanoparticle, produced by green synthesis using resveratrol as a metal-reducing agent. The synthesis method resulted in stable control nanoparticles (AuNp) and resveratrol-coated gold nanoparticles (AuNpRSV) with medium sizes of 32.4 × 15.9 nm for AuNp, and 33.5 × 15.3 nm for AuNpRSV. Both AuNp and AuNpRSV inhibited the C. albicans grown at 2.46 µg/mL, exhibited fungicidal effects at 4.92 µg/mL, and significantly decreased filamentation, biofilm viability, reactive oxygen species production and ergosterol levels of C. albicans. In addition, exposure to AuNpRSV reduced the ability of C. albicans to grow in the presence of cell membrane stressors. Transmission electron microscopy revealed enlargement of the cell wall and retraction of the cell membrane after treatment with AuNp and AuNpRSV. Promisingly, in vivo toxicity analysis demonstrated that both nanoparticles maintained the full viability of Galleria mellonella larvae at 49.20 µg/mL. In conclusion, both gold nanoparticles exhibited antifungal activity; however, these effects were enhanced by AuNpRSV. Altogether, AuNps and AuNpRSVs are potential antifungal agents for the treatment of C. albicans infections.

Advances in conductive hydrogels for neural recording and stimulation

The brain-computer interface (BCI) allows the human or animal brain to directly interact with the external environment through the neural interfaces, thus playing the role of monitoring, protecting, improving/restoring, enhancing, and replacing. Recording electrophysiological information such as brain neural signals is of great importance in health monitoring and disease diagnosis. According to the electrode position, it can be divided into non-implantable, semi-implantable, and implantable. Among them, implantable neural electrodes can obtain the highest-quality electrophysiological information, so they have the most promising application. However, due to the chemo-mechanical mismatch between devices and tissues, the adverse foreign body response and performance loss over time seriously restrict the development and application of implantable neural electrodes. Given the challenges, conductive hydrogel-based neural electrodes have recently attracted much attention, owing to many advantages such as good mechanical match with the native tissues, negligible foreign body response, and minimal signal attenuation. This review mainly focuses on the current development of conductive hydrogels as a biocompatible framework for neural tissue and conductivity-supporting substrates for the transmission of electrical signals of neural tissue to speed up electrical regeneration and their applications in neural sensing and recording as well as stimulation.

Synthesis and degradation mechanism of renally excretable gold core-shell nanoparticles for combined photothermal and photodynamic therapy

Photothermal therapy (PTT) has emerged as a very potent therapeutic approach in the treatment of tumors. Gold nanoparticles have gained considerable scientific interest as a photosensitizer due to their absorbance in the near-infrared regions. However, their biodegradation and excretion from the body is a challenge. Various biodegradable systems consisting of liposomes and polymers have been synthesized, but their precise manufacturing and decomposition mechanisms have not yet been explored. Using zein nanoparticles as a template, we have fabricated a glutathione-functionalized gold core shell type of formulation. The scalability of the one-step seedless gold coating process is also reported. The synthesis procedure of these tunable nanoparticles is understood with TEM. The thermal degradation of the material under the physiological conditions is thoroughly examined using UV and TEM. In vitro PTT effectiveness on breast cancer cells is assessed after an extensive in vitro toxicity research. The mechanism of cell death is studied using ROS and cell cycle analysis. The material exhibited good efficacy as a PTT agent in mice and showed non-toxicity up to 14 days. The renal clearance study of the material in mice shows its disintegration into renal clearable minute gold seeds. All the findings suggest biodegradable glutathione-functionalized gold core-shell nanoparticles as potential photothermal cancer treatment agents.

An Insight of Nanomaterials in Tissue Engineering from Fabrication to Applications

Tissue engineering is a research domain that deals with the growth of various kinds of tissues with the help of synthetic composites. With the culmination of nanotechnology and bioengineering, tissue engineering has emerged as an exciting domain. Recent literature describes its various applications in biomedical and biological sciences, such as facilitating the growth of tissue and organs, gene delivery, biosensor-based detection, etc. It deals with the development of biomimetics to repair, restore, maintain and amplify or strengthen several biological functions at the level of tissue and organs. Herein, the synthesis of nanocomposites based on polymers, along with their classification as conductive hydrogels and bioscaffolds, is comprehensively discussed. Furthermore, their implementation in numerous tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications is also described. The limitations of tissue engineering are also discussed here. The present review highlights and summarizes the latest progress in the tissue engineering domain directed at functionalized nanomaterials.

Photothermal Conversion Profiling of Large-Scaled Synthesized Gold Nanorods Using Binary Surfactant with Hydroquinone as a Reducing Agent

Photothermal application of gold nanorods (AuNRs) is widely increasing because of their good photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) due to local surface plasmon resonance. However, the high concentration of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide used in the synthesis is a concern. Moreover, the mild and commonly used reducing agent-ascorbic acid does not reduce the Au(I) to A(0) entirely, resulting in a low yield of gold nanorods. Herein we report for the first time the PCE of large-scaled synthesized AuNRs using the binary surfactant seed-mediated method with hydroquinone (HQ) as the reducing agent. The temporal evolution of the optical properties and morphology was investigated by varying the Ag concentration, HQ concentration, HCl volumes, and seed solution volume. The results showed that the seed volume, HQ concentration, and HCl volume played a significant role in forming mini-AuNRs absorbing in the 800 nm region with a shape yield of 87.7%. The as-synthesized AuNRs were successfully up-scaled to a larger volume based on the optimum synthetic conditions followed by photothermal profiling. The photothermal profiling analysis showed a temperature increase of more than 54.2 °C at 2.55 W cm⁻² at a low optical density (OD) of 0.160 after 630 s irradiation, with a PCE of approximately 21%, presenting it as an ideal photothermal agent.

Plasmonic Superlattice Membranes Based on Bimetallic Nano-Sea Urchins as High-Performance Label-Free Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Platforms

On the basis of an abundance of elemental plasmonic nanocrystals identifiable by their unique morphology and intrinsic optoelectronic properties, it is necessary to rationally tailor the structural parameters to optimize the functionalities of nanoassemblies for application as plasmonic circuits/devices. Among them, the plasmonic superlattice membrane has emerged as a novel optically active metamaterial, which is constructed by nanocrystals at a two-dimensional (2D) plane with a highly ordered structure and strong plasmonic coupling interactions. Here, we report on the fabrication of a novel plasmonic superlattice membrane using bimetallic core-shell nano-sea urchins (Nano-SEUs) as meta-atoms. Under the guidance of soft-ligand balancing in conjugation with drying-mediated self-assembly at the air/water interface, well-defined giant 2D superlattices with total lateral dimensions of up to 5 mm wide and 80 nm thick have been synthesized, corresponding to an aspect ratio of 62 500. Programmable morphology control over the Nano-SEUs has been achieved in high yield by rationally tuning the spiky branches as well as the thickness of the silver shell, allowing systematic variation of the plasmonic properties of the membrane. Such superlattice membranes exhibited a strong and reproducible surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) signal that originates from interparticle coupling and electric (E)-field enhancement, enabling an enhancement factor of up to 10⁶. We also demonstrated that the fabricated membrane allows the label-free SERS detection of dopamine from 0.1 nM to 1 μM. Thus, this giant Nano-SEU assembled superlattice membrane can be used as a SERS substrate for on-spot biomarker detection, which paves a robust and inexpensive avenue for highly sensitive and reliable biomedical sensing and diagnostics.

Controlling the Optical Properties of Gold Nanorods in One-Pot Syntheses

We present the characterization of the CTAB-oleate controlled synthesis of gold nanorods (AuNRs). Concentrations of key compounds in the synthetic system were varied in the presence of oleate, including HCl, borohydride, silver nitrate, and ascorbic acid. The longitudinal surface plasmon resonance peak was sensitive to changes in all concentrations. Reducing the concentration of Ag ions below 66 μM led to slower reaction kinetics and incomplete Au reduction. Variation of the ascorbic acid concentration revealed that oleate is responsible for around 44% of reduction of Au³⁺ to Au⁺ before nucleation in these experiments. Increasing the oleate concentration significantly slows the growth kinetics and leads to much longer synthesis times of above 12 h for reaction completion. These observations will enable the design of better methods of synthesizing of AuNRs using binary surfactants.

Improvement of Gold Nanorods in Photothermal Therapy: Recent Progress and Perspective

Cancer is a life-threatening disease, and there is a significant need for novel technologies to treat cancer with an effective outcome and low toxicity. Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a noninvasive therapeutic tool that transports nanomaterials into tumors, absorbing light energy and converting it into heat, thus killing tumor cells. Gold nanorods (GNRs) have attracted widespread attention in recent years due to their unique optical and electronic properties and potential applications in biological imaging, molecular detection, and drug delivery, especially in the PTT of cancer and other diseases. This review summarizes the recent progress in the synthesis methods and surface functionalization of GNRs for PTT. The current major synthetic methods of GNRs and recently improved measures to reduce toxicity, increase yield, and control particle size and shape are first introduced, followed by various surface functionalization approaches to construct a controlled drug release system, increase cell uptake, and improve pharmacokinetics and tumor-targeting effect, thus enhancing the photothermal effect of killing the tumor. Finally, a brief outlook for the future development of GNRs modification and functionalization in PTT is proposed.

Graphene Oxide-Coated Gold Nanorods: Synthesis and Applications

The application of gold nanorods (AuNRs) and graphene oxide (GO) has been widely studied due to their unique properties. Although each material has its own challenges, their combination produces an exceptional material for many applications such as sensor, therapeutics, and many others. This review covers the progress made so far in the synthesis and application of GO-coated AuNRs (GO-AuNRs). Initially, it highlights different methods of synthesizing AuNRs and GO followed by two approaches (ex situ and in situ approaches) of coating AuNRs with GO. In addition, the properties of GO-AuNRs composite such as biocompatibility, photothermal profiling, and their various applications, which include photothermal therapy, theranostic, sensor, and other applications of GO-AuNRs are also discussed. The review concludes with challenges associated with GO-AuNRs and future perspectives.

Incorporation of Conductive Materials into Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering Applications

In the field of tissue engineering, conductive hydrogels have been the most effective biomaterials to mimic the biological and electrical properties of tissues in the human body. The main advantages of conductive hydrogels include not only their physical properties but also their adequate electrical properties, which provide electrical signals to cells efficiently. However, when introducing a conductive material into a non-conductive hydrogel, a conflicting relationship between the electrical and mechanical properties may develop. This review examines the strengths and weaknesses of the generation of conductive hydrogels using various conductive materials such as metal nanoparticles, carbons, and conductive polymers. The fabrication method of blending, coating, and in situ polymerization is also added. Furthermore, the applications of conductive hydrogel in cardiac tissue engineering, nerve tissue engineering, and bone tissue engineering and skin regeneration are discussed in detail.

Growing gold nanostructures for shape-selective cellular uptake

With development in the synthesis of shape- and size-dependent gold (Au) nanostructures (NSs) and their applications in nanomedicine, one of the biggest challenges is to understand the interaction of these shapes with cancer cells. Herein, we study the interaction of Au NSs of five different shapes with glioblastoma-astrocytoma cells. Three different shapes (nanorods, tetrahexahedra, and bipyramids), possessing tunable optical properties, have been synthesized by a single-step seed-mediated growth approach employing binary surfactant mixtures of CTAB and a secondary surfactant. By the use of two-step seed-mediated approach, we obtained new NSs, named nanomakura (Makura is a Japanese word used for pillow) which is reported for the first time here. Spherical Au nanoparticles were prepared by the Turkevich method. To study NS-cell interactions, we functionalized the NSs using thiolated PEG followed by 11-Mercaptoundecanoic acid. The influence of shape and concentration of NSs on the cytotoxicity were assessed with a LIVE/DEAD assay in glioblastoma-astrocytoma cells. Furthermore, the time-dependent uptake of nanomakura was studied with TEM. Our results indicate that unlike the other shapes studied here, the nanomakura were taken up both via receptor-mediated endocytosis and macropinocytosis. Thus, from our library of different NSs with similar surface functionality, the shape is found to be an important parameter for cellular uptake.

Mini Gold Nanorods with Tunable Plasmonic Peaks beyond 1000 nm

Gold nanorods of small sizes have larger absorption cross sections and higher photothermal efficiency compared to larger ones. However, tuning the surface plasmon resonance of small gold nanorods remains a challenge because increasing an aspect ratio usually results from increasing dimensions. We demonstrate the synthesis of mini gold nanorods with tunable longitudinal surface plasmon resonance from ~600 to >1300 nm accompanied by precise control over widths <10 nm. Two weak reducing agents, ascorbic acid and even milder hydroquinone, were applied to a seed-mediated growth method to tune the aspect ratios of mini gold nanorods from 2.2 to 10.8 corresponding to average dimensions 19.3 × 9.0 nm through 93.1 × 8.7 nm, respectively. This seed-mediated growth of mini gold nanorods results in an average 96% of rods and yields of at least 79% based on gold ion reduction. The extinction coefficients of mini gold nanorods were established based on the gold content from inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The longitudinal extinction coefficients range from 1.6 × 108 to 1.4 × 109 M-1 cm-1 depending on aspect ratio. We show that liter-scale mini gold nanorod syntheses are reproducible, and the dimensions, aspect ratios, and shape percent yields are comparable to those of a small-scale synthesis.

Au-nanomaterials as a superior choice for near-infrared photothermal therapy

Photothermal therapy (PPT) is a platform to fight cancer by using multiplexed interactive plasmonic nanomaterials as probes in combination with the excellent therapeutic performance of near-infrared (NIR) light. With recent rapid developments in optics and nanotechnology, plasmonic materials have potential in cancer diagnosis and treatment, but there are some concerns regarding their clinical use. The primary concerns include the design of plasmonic nanomaterials which are taken up by the tissues, perform their function and then clear out from the body. Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) can be developed in different morphologies and functionalized to assist the photothermal therapy in a way that they have clinical value. This review outlines the diverse Au morphologies, their distinctive characteristics, concerns and limitations to provide an idea of the requirements in the field of NIR-based therapeutics.