Gold Nanorod-Mediated Photothermal Modulation for Localized Ablation of Cancer Cells

We estimated the photothermal transduction efficiency of gold nanorod (GNR) solutions for different GNR concentrations and irradiation laser power. In particular, we verified that the degree of cell death area could be modulated by GNR concentration and irradiation laser power. The efficacy of GNR-produced photothermal ablation of cancer cells was evaluated by irradiating GNRs in the presence of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells with a near-infrared (NIR) laser at different laser power densities and irradiation times. GNR-induced photothermal ablation was applied successfully to cancer cells at various NIR laser power densities and irradiation times and was characterized with live-dead cell staining. Through these techniques, we established the system for not only verification of induced photothermal effect using NIR laser and thermocouple, but also identification of uptake efficiency for GNRs and cell viability using dark field and fluorescence imaging, respectively.