Heat generation in irradiated gold nanoparticle solutions for hyperthermia applications

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Copyright: Gu, Xi
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Abstract
It is well-know that heat generation in irradiated gold nanoparticle (GNP) solutions can be enhanced by surface plasmon resonance (SPR). What is not well-known is how subtle changes in the morphology of GNPs might impact the optical absorption of near infrared (NIR) light. To investigate this, the first part of this study focusses on the fundamentals of how GNP aggregation—a phenomenon that occurs naturally in populations of GNPs but has not been studied with respect to hyperthermia—might be considered as a tuning mechanism to achieve desirable optical absorption for this application. As two known drivers of particle aggregation, the particle concentration and pH levels of GNP suspensions were investigated for their impact on the effective optical properties and the resultant heating efficiency of partially agglomerated GNPs solutions. It was found that localised heat generation could be significantly enhanced (up to 60.0 ℃) when acidic solutions were illuminated with a near infrared light source (of 1.7 W/cm^2)—a result that matched well with the predicted optical properties of GNP agglomerate structures. To move towards real hyperthermia treatments, the second part of this study investigated the heat generation of GNPs when added to the liquid phase located above the tethered bilayer lipid membranes (tBLMs). The obtained results revealed the significance of intimate contact between the GNPs and adjoining membranes in order to transfer the heat and disturb membrane permeability for efficient membrane destruction. In addition, the microscopic heating of gold nanoshell induced by ultrafast pulsed laser was considered. In this case a non-Fourier heat transfer model was adopted to predict lagging behaviours which are present in biological tissues. Taken together these findings provide a deeper understanding of the non-uniform temperature distribution of tumours embedded with GNPs and GNP clusters. Importantly, these results also introduce a new mechanism (controlled aggregation GNPs inside a tumour) which can be beneficially employed to destroy tumour cell membranes, thereby enhancing the efficacy of hyperthermia treatments.
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Author(s)
Gu, Xi
Supervisor(s)
Timchenko, Victoria
Yeoh, Guan
Taylor, Robert
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Publication Year
2019
Resource Type
Thesis
Degree Type
PhD Doctorate
UNSW Faculty
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