NANOTORRID®: Graphene-like properties of a gold/polypropylene nanocomposite and its photothermal application

Nanoparticles (NP) with advanced optical or photothermal properties have been explored for potential cancer therapy applications. Gold (Au)-based nanomaterials exhibit superior photothermal properties among various Photothermal therapy (PTT) agents. NANOTORRID® material is superior in many ways, including it is composed of dielectric polymer polypropylene carbonate and gold, it has graphitic bands like G and D, its small size range of 20–30 nm, having tunable wavelength absorbance and need for a shorter duration of laser exposure or low material concentration to deliver desired therapeutic benefit. Here, we report a scalable single pot method to produce NANOTORRID® structures capable of intense heat generation within a short duration of 2 to 2.5 min of laser exposure due to multiple dielectric and gold interfaces. NANOTORRID® exhibits excellent photothermal properties as using 10 µg/mL concentration can reach effective temperature (43 °C) within only 2.5 min by absorbing a 430 mW 808 nm laser. Graphical abstract