Plasmonic heating by indium tin oxide nanoparticles: Spectrally enabling decoupled near-infrared theranostics

All-optical theranostic systems are sought after in nanomedicine, since they combine in a single platform therapeutic and diagnostic capabilities. Commonly in these systems the therapeutic and diagnostic/imaging functions are accomplished with plasmonic photothermal agents and luminescent nanopartic...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Benayas Hernández, Antonio, Caetano Zeballos, Nicol, Aldaz Caballero, Leyre, Giráldez-Martínez, Jesús, Marin, Riccardo, Vázquez Besteiro, Lucas, Quintanilla Morales, Marta
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repositorio:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/718587
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10486/718587
https://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d4nr04212c
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Arthroplasty
Fiber Optic Sensors
Medical Nanotechnology
Plasmonic Nanoparticles
Surface Plasmon Resonance
Física
Descripción
Sumario:All-optical theranostic systems are sought after in nanomedicine, since they combine in a single platform therapeutic and diagnostic capabilities. Commonly in these systems the therapeutic and diagnostic/imaging functions are accomplished with plasmonic photothermal agents and luminescent nanoparticles (NPs), respectively. For maximized performance and minimized side effects, these two modalities should be independently activated, i.e., in a decoupled way, using distinct near infrared (NIR) wavelengths: a radiation window wherein photon-tissue interaction is reduced. Yet, to date, a fully decoupled NIR theranostics system is not available. Finding plasmonic NPs working in that range and without spectral overlap with the absorption and emission of state-of-the-art NIR luminescent NPs requires the development of new materials specifically designed for this purpose. To address this limitation, we herein present water-dispersible indium tin oxide (ITO) NPs whose surface plasmon resonance was tuned for exclusive operation in the third biological window (NIR-III, 1500-1800 nm). That leaves available the first and second biological windows, in which diagnostic tools are typically working. Both the microwave-assisted synthesis and the water-transfer protocol were optimized to obtain NPs with maximum light-to-heat conversion capabilities, owing to their small size and reduced aggregation in aqueous media. Proof-of-concept experiments showed that the lack of overlap between the absorption of ITO NPs and the absorption/emission of model near infrared luminescent species (the widely used Nd3+-doped NPs) is an asset when devising an all-optical theranostics platform. The obtained results set the stage for the development of a new generation of high-performance, all-optical theranostic systems with minimized side effects