Tuning NIR LSPR in Gold Nanoparticles for Light to Heat Conversion in Gelatin Matrix

Camelle Aleman¹, Candy Mercado^1*, Sheng Ting Hung², Chi-Shuo Chen³

¹Department of Mining, Metallurgical, and Materials Engineering, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines
²Department of Physics, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
³Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan

* Presenter:Candy Mercado, email:ccmercado1@up.edu.ph

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in the order of 10-100nm exhibit localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). This LSPR depend on the morphology and size of the AuNPs. The common synthesis of AuNPs result in spherical nanoparticles with LSPR at ~500-550 nm. Because of the biological window, the practicable region of the light spectrum is only from 600-900 nm for photothermal applications, thus, AuNPs with LSPR in red to Near IR region continues to garner widespread attention as they are promising nanomaterials with a wide range of applications. In addition, synthesis methods using biocompatible reactants are necessary. For this study, a method to produce NIR-LSPR AuNP was developed. To further study the photothermal response of these nanoparticles, a mix of nanoparticles in gelatin matrix was prepared and irradiated with NIR light leading to phase conversion of the gelatin.

Keywords: AuNP, LSPR, Photothermal, Nanocomposite, Biocompatible synthesis