Gold Nanotetrapods with Unique Topological Structure and Ultranarrow Plasmonic Band as Multifunctional Therapeutic Agents

Owing to their excellent surface plasmonic properties, Au nanobranches have drawn increasing attention in various bioapplications, such as contrast agents for photoacoustic imaging, nanomedicines for photothermal therapy, and carriers for drug delivery. The monodispersity and plasmonic bandwidth of Au nanobranches are of great importance for the efficacy of those bioapplications. However, it is still a challenge to accurately synthesize size- and shape-controlled Au nanobranches. Here we report a facile seed-mediated growth method to synthesize monodisperse Au nanotetrapods (NTPs) with tunable and ultranarrow plasmonic bands. The NTPs have a novel D-2d symmetry with four arms elongated in four < 110 > directions. The growth mechanism of NTPs relies on the delicate kinetic control of deposition and diffusion rates of adatoms. Upon laser irradiation, the PEGylated NTPs possess remarkable photothermal conversion efficiencies and photoacoustic imaging properties. The NTPs can be applied as a multifunctional theranostic agent for both photoacoustic imaging and image-guided photothermal therapy.