Core-shell-shell nanorods for controlled release of silver that can serve as a nanoheater for photothermal treatment on bacteria

A novel bactericidal material comprising rod-shaped core-shell-shell Au-Ag-Au nanorods is constructed as a nanoheater in the near-infrared (NIR) region. The outer Au shell melts under laser irradiation and results in exposure of the inner Ag shell, facilitating the controlled release of the antibacterial Ag shell/layer or Ag+. This results in the Au-Ag-Au nanorods having a favorable bactericidal ability as it combines the features of physical photothermal ablation sterilization of the outer Au shell and the antibacterial effect of the inner Ag shell or Ag+ to the surrounding bacteria. The sterilizing ability of Au-Ag-Au nanorods is investigated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 as a model bacterial strain. Under low-power NIR laser irradiation (785 nm, 50 mW cm(-2)), the Au-Ag-Au nanoheater exhibits a higher photothermal conversion efficiency (with a solution temperature of 44 degrees C) with respect to that for the Au-Ag nanorods (39 degrees C). Meanwhile, a much improved stability with respect to Au-Ag nanorods is observed, i.e., 16 successive days of monitoring reveal virtually no change in the ultraviolet-visible spectrum of Au-Ag-Au nanorods, while a significant drop in absorption along with a 92 nm red shift of Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance is recorded for the Au-Ag nanorods. This brings an increasing bactericidal efficiency and long-term stability for the Au-Ag-Au nanorods. At a dosage of 10 mu g ml(-1), a killing rate of 100% is reached for the E. coli O157:H7 cells under 20 min of irradiation. The use of Au-Ag-Au nanorods avoids the abuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics and reduces the damage of tissues by alleviating the toxicity of silver under controlled release and by the use of low-power laser irradiation. These features could make the bimetallic core-shell-shell nanorods a favorable nanoheater for in vivo biomedical applications. (C) 2014 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.