Potential Application of Gold Nanostructures in Photodynamic Therapy

In this manuscript we report the synthesis of gold nanostructures (G2) via seed-mediated growth method using CTAB as the surfactant, their size and morphology have been elucidated by TEM and DLS. The UV-visible absorption spectra of G2NPs showed a more intense peak at 680 nm and less intense peak at 520 nm indicating, formation of gold nanorods in majority. In case of G2 nanostructures the longitudinal LSPR peak could be tunable as a function of their aspect ratio. The gold nanostructures conjugated with a photosensitizer (G2-PS NPs) were applied in Photodynamic Therapy (PDT). These G2-PS NPs stably-dispersed in aqueous medium and were characterized by optical studies. Cell viability studies demonstrated that only PS conjugated NPs (G2-PS NPs) could only generate cytotoxic singlet oxygen. The results indicate the promise of G2-PS NPs as delivery agents in photodynamic therapy