Photothermal therapy

• Selective destruction of target cells using gold nanoparticles

Gold nanoparticles have attracted considerable interest on account of their many potential and actual applications. These particles can be engineered to absorb light at a particular wavelength and can also be functionalized with an antibody or protein to target specific cells. When these two phenomena are combined, the heating which results when gold nanoparticles absorb light can be used to deliver a hyperthermal payload to adjacent biological material. Either spherical or rod-shaped can be modified to target and kill macrophage cells or parasites (Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites)

 

Using gold nanoparticles to kill parasite