Near-Infrared-Responsive Choline-Calix[4]arene-Gold Nanostructures for Potential Photothermal Cancer Treatment
Grazia M. L. Consoli, Giuseppe Forte, Ludovica Maugeri, Valeria Consoli, Valeria Sorrenti, Luca Vanella, Gianpiero Buscarino, S. Agnello, Massimo Camarda, Giuseppe Granata, Loredana Ferreri, Salvatore Petralia
Abstract
The development of novel chemical approaches for the fabrication of gold nanostructures with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) falling in the near-infrared (NIR) region is one challenging topic in nanomaterials science. Due to their optical and photothermal properties triggered by light excitation in the therapeutic window (Amax = 650-1300 nm), gold-based nanostructures are appealing candidates in anticancer nanomedicine. Here, we report a novel method to prepare waterdispersible gold nanostructures with NIR-LSPR (Amax = 600-1000 nm) properties. The gold nanostructures were achieved in a single step by an unconventional method using NADH as a reducing agent and an amphiphilic choline-calix[4]arene derivative (CholCalix) forming micelles as a template. The CholCalix-Au nanostructures were characterized by UV-visible spectrophotometry, Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Agglomeration of the nanostructures due to multiple crosslinking interactions was observed and supported by modeling simulation. Effective anticancer photothermal-induced effect of the CholCalix-AuNPs was demonstrated on human breast cancer cells irradiated with biofriendly light at 808 nm.