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Despite its undoubted potential, recent studies have began to highlight the complex processes of photothermal therapy. In this perspective, we tackle several issues that affect current research on photothermal therapy, such as the influence of other factors produced in the process, for instance reactive oxygen species or vapor nanobubbles. After focusing on several of the aspects of photothermal therapy that need further clarification, we step back and see this therapy from a wider angle in order to identify its weaknesses. Finally, we briefly summarize what we consider should be the orientation and key focus of future researches in order to establish the full potential of this rapidly advancing and promising therapy.

How to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of human cytokine induced killers cell (CIK) has become a great challenge. Herein, we report for the first time that human CIK cells loaded with gold nanoprisms were successfully used for targeted photoacoustic imaging, enhanced immunotherapy and photothermal therapy of gastric cancer in vivo. Gold nanoprisms were synthesized and modified with PEG; human CIK cells were prepared and incubated with PEGylated gold nanoprisms (Au GNPrs), and then the effects of human CIK cells labeled with Au NPrs on gastric cancer MGC 803 cells were evaluated and further used for targeted photoacoustic imaging, immunotherapy and photothermal therapy of gastric cancer in vivo in mice models. Results showed that PEGylated Au NPrs could be uptaken high-efficiently by human CIK cells, resultant human CIK cells labeled with AuNPrs could inhibit the growth of gastric cancer MGC 803 cells actively by induced apoptosis and G1 phase arrest, and actively target and accumulate the tumor sites in gastric cancer-bearing nude mice. Enhanced synergistic therapeutic efficacy was demonstrated with the maximal inhibition of tumor through a combination of CIK cells-based immunotherapy for three days and then a continuous gold nanoprisms-based photothermal therapy. In conclusion, human CIK cells labeled with PEGylated Au NPrs can target gastric cancer cells in vivo, enhance immunotherapy and photothermal therapy efficacy, and have a great potential in applications such as targeted imaging, immunotherapy and photothermal therapy of gastric cancer in the near future.

Silver nanoparticles have particular properties that contribute to their very promising applications, novel in various fields of science, such as the development of biosensors, the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, the controlled release of drugs and the antimicrobial potential. The biological synthesis of nanoparticles is of great interest over other physical and chemical methods because the use of toxic chemicals and drastic reaction conditions are avoided. The extracellular biosynthesis using fungi could also make downstream processing much easier than the intracellular biosynthesis. One of the main applications of silver nanoparticles is their antimicrobial activity. Several studies have demonstrated the bactericidal properties of silver nanoparticles are different from silver ions, and that they are strongly influenced by their shape, size, concentration and colloidal state. In the present work, the ability of fungal strains from Uruguay to synthesize silver nanoparticles was studied. Eight fungi were able to synthesize nanoparticles. An extensive physicochemical characterization of the nanoparticles was carried out including ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, zeta-potential and gel electrophoretic mobility. According to the characterization and colloidal stability results, nanoparticles from three fungi were selected for antimicrobial activity assays. All nanoparticles were able to inhibit Escherichia coli growth, demonstrating their potential as effective antibacterial agent for use in biomedical applications.