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Journal of Materials Science and Nanotechnology | Volume: 3
March 20-21, 2019 | London, UK
Materials Science and Materials Chemistry
2
nd
International Conference on
Plasmonic nanostars: A golden platform for medical diagnostics and photo immunotherapy
Tuan Vo-Dinh
Duke University, USA
A
n overview of recent developments in our laboratory
for plasmonics-active gold nanostars (GNS) have been
developed and applied for multifunctional cancer diagnostics
and therapy (theranostics) will be provided. Plasmonics refers
to the research area of enhanced electromagnetic properties
of metallic nanostructures that produce ultrasensitive and
selective detection technologies. The technology involves
interactions of laser radiation with metallic nanoparticles,
inducing very strong enhancement of the electromagnetic
field on the surface of the nanoparticles. These processes,
often called ‘plasmonic enhancements’, produce the surface-
enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect that could enhance
the Raman signal of molecules on these nanoparticles more
than a million-fold. The SERS technology can be used to directly
detect chemical species and biological species with exquisite
sensitivity for biomedical diagnostics.
A SERS-based nanoprobe technology, referred to as ‘Molecular
Sentinel’ nanoprobes, has been developed to detect DNA
targets of pathogenic agents (e.g., HIV) and biomarkers of
diseases (e.g., BRCA1, ERB2 breast cancer genes). Other
plasmonic platforms, such as gold nanostars, offer plasmon
properties that efficiently transduce photon energy into heat
for photothermal therapy. Nanostars, with their small core size
and multiple long thin branches, exhibit intense two-photon
luminescence, and high absorption cross sections that are
tunable in the near infrared region with relatively low scattering
effect, rendering them efficient efficient photothermal agents
in cancer therapy. A theranostic nanoplatform construct was
created, allowing SERS imaging and photodynamic therapy.
SERS-based plasmonic nanoprobes and nanochip systems have
also been developed for use as diagnostic systems for point-of-
care personalized nanomedicine and global health applications.
Gold nanostars can be used for photothermal therapy and
immunotherapy. GNS- mediated photothermal therapy
combined with checkpoint immunotherapy —a treatment we
referred to as Synergistic Immuno Photothermal Nanotherapy
(SYMPHONY)— has been found to reverse tumor-mediated
immunosuppression, leading to the treatment of not only
primary tumors but also cancer metastasis as well as inducing
long-lasting immunity, i.e. an anti-tumor ‘vaccine’ effect in
murine model.
Speaker Biography
TuanVo-Dinh isadistinguishedProfessorofBiomedicalEngineering,ProfessorofChemistry,
and Director of the Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics. His research activities and interests
involvebiophotonics,nanophotonics,plasmonics,laser-excitedluminescencespectroscopy,
room temperature phosphorimetry, synchronous luminescence spectroscopy, surface-
enhanced Raman spectroscopy, field environmental instrumentation, fiber optics sensors,
nanosensors, biosensors and biochips for the protection of the environment and the
improvement of human health.
e:
tuan.vodinh@duke.edu