Facet-dependent gold nanocrystals for effective photothermal killing of bacteria

Gold-based plasmonic nanocrystals have been extensively developed for noninvasive photothermal therapy. In this study, gold nanorods (AuNRs) with (200) plane and gold nanobipyramids (AuNBPs) with (111) plane were utilized as photothermal agents for noninvasive photothermal therapy. With longitudinal surface plasma bands at similar to 808 nm, both of AuNRs and AuNBPs revealed photothermal capability and reversibility of laser response under 808-nm near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation. Moreover, AuNBPs with (111) plane exhibited higher photothermal performance than that of AuNRs with (200) plane under NIR laser irradiation. Density function theory (DFT) simulations revealed that water adsorption energy followed the order Au(111) < Au(100), indicating that the water was easily desorbed on the Au(111) surface for photothermal heating. For the photothermal therapy against Escherichia coli (E. coli), AuNBPs also exhibited higher efficiency compared to that of AuNRs under NIR laser irradiation. Combination of experimental photothermal therapy and DFT simulations demonstrated that AuNBPs with (111) plane were better photothermal agents than that of AuNRs with (100) plane.

Automated summary

Gold-based plasmonic nanocrystals, specifically gold nanobipyramids with (111) plane, showed higher photothermal performance compared to gold nanorods with (200) plane in noninvasive photothermal therapy, as demonstrated by experimental studies and density function theory (DFT) simulations. Water desorption energy on the Au(111) surface was found to be lower than on the Au(100) surface, indicating easier desorption for photothermal heating. Additionally, AuNBPs with (111) plane exhibited higher efficiency in photothermal therapy against Escherichia coli (E. coli) under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation compared to AuNRs.