Clustered, SERS-Active, Ultrasmall AuNPs for Photothermal Therapy
Ryan D Mellor,1 Guojun Xiong,1 Alexandra G Vaideanu,1 Benjamin Gardner,2 Nick Stone,2 Andreas G Schätzlein,1 Ijeoma F Uchegbu1 1School of Pharmacy, University College London (UCL), London, WC1N 1AX, UK; 2School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QL, UKCorrespondence: Ijeoma...
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Dove Medical Press
2025-06-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Nanomedicine |
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| author | Mellor RD Xiong G Vaideanu AG Gardner B Stone N Schätzlein AG Uchegbu IF |
| author_facet | Mellor RD Xiong G Vaideanu AG Gardner B Stone N Schätzlein AG Uchegbu IF |
| author_sort | Mellor RD |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ryan D Mellor,1 Guojun Xiong,1 Alexandra G Vaideanu,1 Benjamin Gardner,2 Nick Stone,2 Andreas G Schätzlein,1 Ijeoma F Uchegbu1 1School of Pharmacy, University College London (UCL), London, WC1N 1AX, UK; 2School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QL, UKCorrespondence: Ijeoma F Uchegbu, School of Pharmacy, University College London (UCL), 29– 39 Brunswick Square, London, Tel + 44 207 753 5997, Email ijeoma.uchegbu@ucl.ac.ukIntroduction: Gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) have emerged as promising agents for photothermal cancer therapy due to their unique optical properties and potential for tumour targeting.Methods: In this study, we developed clustered, excretable AuNCs using a glycol chitosan derivative (GCPQ) and investigated their physicochemical properties, photothermal effect, and therapeutic efficacy.Results: The AuNCs exhibited tunable surface plasmon resonance peaks dependent on the polymer:AuNP ratio, with optimized clusters showing surface enhanced Raman scattering and photothermal heating. In vivo studies in a mouse tumour model demonstrated significant tumour growth inhibition (334% growth vs 607% growth for untreated animals after 6 days) when combining intratumoural AuNC injection with near-infrared laser irradiation.Conclusion: The results provide proof-of-concept for the potential of these AuNCs in photothermal cancer therapy. Future work should focus on improving tumour targeting, optimizing treatment parameters, and assessing long-term safety to advance this platform toward clinical translation.Keywords: gold nanoclusters, (AuNCs), cancer treatment, glycol chitosan derivative, (GCPQ), tumour growth inhibition |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-415fdbc468064aee83a00f12f7bfbbf5 |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 1178-2013 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Dove Medical Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Nanomedicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-415fdbc468064aee83a00f12f7bfbbf52025-06-25T21:33:46ZengDove Medical PressInternational Journal of Nanomedicine1178-20132025-06-01Volume 20Issue 182098220104186Clustered, SERS-Active, Ultrasmall AuNPs for Photothermal TherapyMellor RD0Xiong GVaideanu AG1Gardner BStone N2Schätzlein AG3Uchegbu IF4UCL School of PharmacySchool of PharmacyPhysics and AstronomyUCL School of PharmacyUCL School of PharmacyRyan D Mellor,1 Guojun Xiong,1 Alexandra G Vaideanu,1 Benjamin Gardner,2 Nick Stone,2 Andreas G Schätzlein,1 Ijeoma F Uchegbu1 1School of Pharmacy, University College London (UCL), London, WC1N 1AX, UK; 2School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QL, UKCorrespondence: Ijeoma F Uchegbu, School of Pharmacy, University College London (UCL), 29– 39 Brunswick Square, London, Tel + 44 207 753 5997, Email ijeoma.uchegbu@ucl.ac.ukIntroduction: Gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) have emerged as promising agents for photothermal cancer therapy due to their unique optical properties and potential for tumour targeting.Methods: In this study, we developed clustered, excretable AuNCs using a glycol chitosan derivative (GCPQ) and investigated their physicochemical properties, photothermal effect, and therapeutic efficacy.Results: The AuNCs exhibited tunable surface plasmon resonance peaks dependent on the polymer:AuNP ratio, with optimized clusters showing surface enhanced Raman scattering and photothermal heating. In vivo studies in a mouse tumour model demonstrated significant tumour growth inhibition (334% growth vs 607% growth for untreated animals after 6 days) when combining intratumoural AuNC injection with near-infrared laser irradiation.Conclusion: The results provide proof-of-concept for the potential of these AuNCs in photothermal cancer therapy. Future work should focus on improving tumour targeting, optimizing treatment parameters, and assessing long-term safety to advance this platform toward clinical translation.Keywords: gold nanoclusters, (AuNCs), cancer treatment, glycol chitosan derivative, (GCPQ), tumour growth inhibitionhttps://www.dovepress.com/clustered-sers-active-ultrasmall-aunps-for-photothermal-therapy-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IJNGold nanoclusters(AuNCs)Cancer treatmentGlycol chitosan derivative(GCPQ)Tumour growth inhibition |
| spellingShingle | Mellor RD Xiong G Vaideanu AG Gardner B Stone N Schätzlein AG Uchegbu IF Clustered, SERS-Active, Ultrasmall AuNPs for Photothermal Therapy International Journal of Nanomedicine Gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) Cancer treatment Glycol chitosan derivative (GCPQ) Tumour growth inhibition |
| title | Clustered, SERS-Active, Ultrasmall AuNPs for Photothermal Therapy |
| title_full | Clustered, SERS-Active, Ultrasmall AuNPs for Photothermal Therapy |
| title_fullStr | Clustered, SERS-Active, Ultrasmall AuNPs for Photothermal Therapy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Clustered, SERS-Active, Ultrasmall AuNPs for Photothermal Therapy |
| title_short | Clustered, SERS-Active, Ultrasmall AuNPs for Photothermal Therapy |
| title_sort | clustered sers active ultrasmall aunps for photothermal therapy |
| topic | Gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) Cancer treatment Glycol chitosan derivative (GCPQ) Tumour growth inhibition |
| url | https://www.dovepress.com/clustered-sers-active-ultrasmall-aunps-for-photothermal-therapy-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IJN |
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