Gas-phase self-assembly of soft nanocomposites for efficient gene transfection and photothermal therapy

The gene transfection efficiency of Au@PDMS-PLL soft nanocomposites was higher than those of SiO2-PLL and PEI; and moreover, the nanocomposites did not show significant cell cytotoxicity in in vitro measurements. The soft nanocomposites were also sensitive during photothermal therapy with infrared light, which produced a cytotoxic effect on the targeted HeLa cells.