Near-infrared absorbing and luminescent gold speckled silica nanoparticles for photothermal therapy

Herein, we report the development and functional evaluation of sub-50 nm near-infrared absorbing and luminescent gold speckled silica (GSS) nanoparticles for fluorescence traceable and selective, in vitro and in vivo photothermal ablation applications. The nanoparticles prepared using microemulsion-mediated approach, are comprised of GRAS (generally regarded as safe) materials, and are promising multifunctional agents for image guided photo-mediated therapies.