Photothermal detection of local thermal effects during selective nanophotothermolysis

Photothermal (PT) technique was applied to the detection of laser-induced local thermal effects around absorbing nanoparticles into cells. The experiments demonstrated the capability of this technique for studying the threshold and the dynamic of thermal events around even a single particle in a broad temperature range, including monitoring of microbubble dynamic. PT technique shows promise for optimizing cancer-cell killing by incorporation of gold nanoparticles into the cells (selective nanophotothermolysis), as verified by electron microscopy and conventional viability tests. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.